We started taking SEPTA to school because my oldest son started going to a magnet middle school. Our commute is Passyunk Sq to Girard Estates. For the first half of the year, either my wife or I went with him (on SEPTA) to school in the morning and picked him up in the afternoon. In the 2nd half of the year, we got him a phone and started letting him go on his own a few days a week.

My younger son got into the same school this year and now they go together. They have lots of classmates who take SEPTA on their own, so there's usually a sizable number of kids who go together, especially after school. Feel free to DM me if you have specific questions!