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Families of incarcerated people will once again have access to affordable bus transportation to visit their loved ones, following a $600,000 state investment in the Pennsylvania Prison Society's transportation program.
"In-person visits can reduce recidivism by up to 20%, and studies show that regular family visits are associated with fewer disciplinary incidents and safer prison environments," said Kirstin Cornnell, chief program director at the Pennsylvania Prison Society. "Loved ones on the outside report that in-person visits lessen their anxiety about their incarcerated loved one's well being, and these visits can facilitate a better environment for important conversations."
House Appropriations Committee Chairman Jordan Harris, D-Philadelphia, and several other Democratic leaders gathered at the Prison Society in Philadelphia Monday to announce the funding, which comes from money allocated in the 2026-27 state budget.
Bus tickets cost $20 roundtrip, with free rides for children under 18. The program is expected to support about 5,000 family visits this year, according to the Prison Society.
While the state's prisons are scattered around the state, mostly in isolated rural areas, roughly 24% of state prison inmates were from Philadelphia in 2024, according to the most recent statistical report released by the Department of Corrections. When inmates from the counties immediately surrounding Philadelphia are included, 36.5% of the state's prison population is from southeastern Pennsylvania.
The program provides an important transportation option for families, about a third of whom lack access to a vehicle. Public transportation to most state correctional institutions is limited or unavailable, according to the Prison Society.
"Some trips are very long - as much as 7 hours in one direction," Cornnell said. "The bus allows people to relax in advance of their visit, and also to have space to decompress or sleep afterwards. Driving yourself often requires a hotel stay or very long days."
The program operated for nearly two decades before shutting down during the COVID-19 pandemic because of funding shortfalls. The Prison Society restarted a limited number of bus trips from Philadelphia in September 2025 with financial support from the city.
Cornnell said that during the program's hiatus, many families went without seeing their incarcerated loved ones, relying instead on phone or video calls. Others arranged carpools or rented cars, often at significant expense.
"Video calls are an incredible supplement to in-person visiting, but not a substitute for it," she said. "We applaud the Department of Corrections for keeping video calls free after the pandemic, and we are encouraged by the high rates of utilization."
In-person visits remain below half their pre-pandemic levels, though Cornnell said they were underutilized even before the pandemic.
"In-person visits are ... less than 100,000 annually now, and in 2019, the number was just over 200,000," she said. "We would argue that even before the pandemic, in-person visits were being underutilized. Between 2012 and 2016, 40% of people released from prisons had no visits at all during their incarceration."
The revitalized program transports family members from Philadelphia to nine state correctional institutions across Pennsylvania. The Prison Society plans to expand service from Pittsburgh to four additional facilities in 2027.
The organization eventually hopes to serve all 22 correctional institutions, gradually expanding the program in coordination with the Department of Corrections and based on ridership, Cornnell said. The nonprofit is also advocating for continued funding in the 2027-28 state budget.
"We, as a community, need to remove as many barriers to in-person visiting as possible," Cornnell said. "This program is a major step in the right direction and an impactful investment in Pennsylvania families."