You must contact the school. If you are eligible and need transportation, please let your school know. Please note, you may be required to submit proof of residency with the school.

The First Ride program is an education and awareness program. It is designed to promote school bus safety to young children and their parents. It familiarizes young children who are beginning school with school buses and helps them overcome any fears they may have about riding on the "big yellow bus". It also provides information to children and their parents on school bus safety procedures, including how to get on and off the bus safely. The program is planned as a fun learning experience for the participants.

The bus driver is not permitted to drop off a junior or senior kindergarten student unless there is a verified caregiver at the bus stop to meet them. If there is not a designated caregiver present the driver has no choice but to return the child to the school and the parents will have to pick them up. Please note, if this becomes an ongoing issue, transportation privileges will be suspended. If someone new is going to meet your child, make sure it is verified through the school office. The bus driver will then be informed through the bus operator of the new arrangements. Changes to the designate names list require two business days to implement.

Accidents are most likely to occur before boarding and after leaving the bus rather than while actually on the bus. At such young ages supervision at a bus stop is critical to ensure they;

• Stay off the road and stand back from the curb.
• Do not play or run around at the bus stop.
• Respect private property.
• Line up and wait until the bus comes to a full and complete stop.
• Remain alert and look both ways if crossing the street.

**JK/SK Students MUST be accompanied by a verified designate.

Formal registration must be done at one of the schools in your district. To learn what schools are in your district please visit: https://geoquery.buskids.ca/Eligibility

Students may access transportation services if they are attending an in boundary Board designated school and their primary address is at a distance of more than:

• 1.0 km Jr. Elementary (SK/JK)
• 1.6 km Elementary (grades 1-8)
• 3.2 km Secondary

Should a family choose to attend a school other than their home school, transportation is entirely the responsibility of the parent/guardian.

Approval must be obtained before a student may attend an out of boundary school. Transportation to that school would be the responsibility of the parent/guardian.

We are governed by eligibility policies of your board. It is the responsibility of the parent/guardian to get the student to and from the stop, both in the morning and the afternoon. You may fill out a stop location review request, through your online bussing account, if your assigned stop has you cross railroad tracks, a four lane highway or farther than 1.0km. In urban residential areas, bus stops are to be community collection points placed at street corners as much as possible. This reduces bus ride times dramatically, and increases student safety by reducing other motorist frustrations.

Your children’s transportation is governed by the same policies as other families who do not have infants at home. It is the responsibility of the parent/guardian to get the students to and from the stop, both in the morning and afternoon.

The responsibility lies with the parent/guardian

If you live within an area that is not eligible for school board provided transportation, ultimately, it remains the parent/guardian responsibility to get your student(s) to and from the school. Please refer to our section on Active Transportation for some helpful resources.

Depending on the distance of your child’s bus stop you should have them leave with enough time to be at their bus stop 10 minutes before the bus arrives.

Refer to Joint Custody policy in the policy section of buskids.ca

Regrettably, you will have to make your own arrangements to get your child to school.

Motorists in both directions meeting a stopped school bus with its overhead red signal lights flashing and stop arm extended must stop. This law applies everywhere, regardless of the posted speed limit - on highways, country roads, city, town or village streets. Only on roads and highways separated by a median strip is oncoming traffic not required to stop.

We prefer students keep everything in their backpack during the bus ride. If something is left behind you need to contact the school bus operator directly. The name of the bus company and their phone number can be found on your buskids account. Please keep in mind that your school bus is servicing multiple schools and does field trips, what is forgotten on the bus may not be found.

Transport Canada sets safety standards for school vehicles at time of manufacture. These standards include high seat backs with energy absorbing padding, seats that are placed close together, and strong seat anchorages. In 1984, Transport Canada conducted research on the use of seat belts on school buses in frontal collisions using the current configuration. It was found that adding seat belts to this system did not increase safety but did increase the potential for more severe head and neck injuries. Transport Canada also tested several other seating configurations, but found no significant safety improvements that did not also involve other safety trade-offs. Given the extremely low number of fatalities involving school bus passengers inside the bus, the addition of seat belts does not constitute a safety advantage.

Children are at a greater risk of being injured before and after they get on the bus. There are “danger zones” or blind spots that the driver cannot see. Also not every car stops when the bus does and many children are killed while attempting to cross the street. The most important thing we can do to increase school bus safety is to communicate with the public how important it is to stop when the school bus does.

Research conducted by Transport Canada shows that school bus travel is one of the safest methods of transportation -- and is 16 times safter than travelling in the family car, based on the number of passengers and kilometres travelled. Although school buses have an excellent safety record, mishaps can happen, and injuries can result. These can include both children riding on the bus and children who suffer injuries as a result of being hit by their own school bus or by other vehicle.

All buses built since 1980 meet safety standards developed by the Canadian Standards Association (CSA - D-250) and set by Transport Canada.

• the size and bright yellow colour make school buses very visible.
• the school bus is designed to protect passengers from impact. The floor is raised, the window glass is shatter-proof, and there are strengthened reinforcements along the sides of the bus.
• the flashing lights and stop arm that warn motorists that they must stop for a stopped school bus.
• the high penalty (six demerit points and a substantial fine) for motorists who fail to stop for a school bus.
• school bus drivers receive special training and licensing, rigorous examinations and must maintain a good driving record.

Most injuries to school vehicle passengers occur outside the school bus, as students are entering or leaving the bus, or crossing the street. Many of these mishaps can be prevented through education. School vehicle safety can be improved by teaching children the correct procedures and proper behaviour around school buses. Children should learn:

• to be at the school bus stop on time
• to wait in a safe place well back from the side of the road
• to know the danger zones around the bus where the driver cannot see them
• to enter the bus in single file, holding onto the handrail
• to find a seat right away, and stay seated, facing forward at all times
• to make sure that there is nothing in the aisle
• to do what the bus driver says
• it is unsafe to distract the driver
• throwing things, rowdy behaviour and eating and/or drinking are not allowed
• to keep hands and arms inside the bus

Passengers should not be loaded or unloaded on a steep grade or on a curve. There should be a clear view of the road in each direction for at least 150m (500ft)

If the driver needs to stop near an interesection with traffic signal lights and use the red flashing lights and stop arm, the stop should be made at least 60m from the intersection.

If this is not possible, and if children must board or leave the bus at traffic signal lights, the driver must not activate the upper alternating red flashing lights and stop arm on the school bus. The stop should be made as close as possible to the intersection, close to the curb or the edge of the roadway. The passengers must be cautioned to obey the traffic signal lights. This is not advisable in route planning.

The school bus must stop on the travelled portion of the roadway and not the shoulder to load and unload passengers.

The Highway Traffic Act has been amended to require that school buses stop at all railway crossings, whether the crossing is protected by gates or railway signal lights. The driver must stop the vehicle not less than 5 metres from the nearest rail of the railway; look in both directions along the track; open a door of the vehicle and listen to determine if a train is approaching; and, when it is safe to do so, cross the railway track in a gear that will not need to be changed while crossing the track. The driver must not change gears when the bus is actually crossing the tracks. The flashing lights and stop arm must not be activated.

It is parental choice whether to put their child(ren) on the bus on days when transportation has been deemed operational.