Procedural

  1. How will STSWR know that a student needs to be set up for busing?

Schools are no longer required to send an email to their area technician to request a change to busing for a student. BusPlanner Live will automatically download student information from Aspen to our BusPlanner routing database.

  1. Once I make a change to Aspen, where does my change sit in terms of processing?

Each change you make in Aspen is time stamped in order of completion. Your area technician will process changes in the order they receive them.

  1. Do I have to update Aspen information for a student before they can be added to the bus list?

For data integrity and student safety reasons, it is important that the student data in Aspen is the data that is used when setting up busing in BusPlanner. Data inconsistencies between Aspen and BusPlanner may result in inaccurate information being used to set up transportation for the student.

  1. Once I enter a student into Aspen, how soon can that student take the bus?
  • If you enter the student in the AM, the technician can start working on the process in the afternoon.
  • If you enter the student in the PM, the technician can start working on the process the next morning.
  • Once the technician has processed the request, the student can start riding within 2-3 business days.
  • Please keep in mind that during the start of the school year, your transportation technician will be processing dozens of requests a day and may not get to process all requests within this time frame. Rural students that require a new bus stop to be added may also take longer to process.
  • To find out the effective start date, you can log into BusPlanner Web using your Professional Login (previously known as GeoQuery). Search for the student and click on the student’s name to see an effective date of when they can start taking the bus.
  1. How will parents know when their child can begin riding the bus?

No change – once transportation has been set up by STSWR, schools can either send home change forms with students or families can be directed to the Student Login. Effective dates for busing are available on both the change form and through Student Login.

  1. What is the process for a parent to set their child up for busing if they have moved, are new to the school, or there is a change in child care arrangements?

No change – parents are encouraged to contact the school first in order for schools to make the appropriate changes to the Aspen database. Once these changes are made, STSWR will receive and process the change.

  1. How will WRDSB Secondary schools know when to issue a new bus pass for a yellow school bus?

No change – if your school uses bus passes for yellow school buses, students assigned to a new or different route should be issued a new bus pass.

  1. How will I know when to issue a new kindergarten tag for a student?

No change – if a kindergarten student is assigned to a new or different stop or route, students should be issued a new kindergarten tag.

  1. How will WRDSB Secondary schools know when students can go to GRT to get their transit pass?

No change – schools will receive an email from STSWR indicating that the student has been added to the list and the pass is ready for pick up.

  1. How will a school know when a student has been added to a bus?

The process will be unchanged – technicians will continue to email change forms to schools detailing all the busing information. In the future, STSWR will work with schools to find an online solution to communicating new transportation information. When this process is implemented the change form will become unnecessary.

  1. What is the process for students with Special Needs? Request for Special Approval for Transportation?

There is no change to the process regarding students with Special Needs or Special Request Approvals.

  1. What if a student only needs transportation one way?
  • Have the parents fill out the Do Not Ride Form which will come directly to STSWR. We will act on the form when we receive it in the same timelines as above. The school Principal will receive the Do Not Ride Form as part of this process.

Aspen

  1. Why are Fast Forward (WRDSB schools only) and/or ESL (WCDSB and WRDSB schools) students no longer listed as transported even though they were previously assigned to transportation? They have not moved.
  • In order for students to be processed as Fast Forward or ESL, they must be assigned to the Fast Forward or ESL group in Aspen. If they are not assigned to this group, they may show as out of boundary, not eligible and in turn, de-assigned from transportation
  • Please check that they are in the Fast Forward or ESL group in Aspen. If they already are, please contact your technician to review this for you
  • For information on how to add a student to the Fast Forward or ESL group, WRDSB schools should log a ticket and WCDSB schools should contact the help desk for assistance
  1. If a student moves, does the end date for the old address have to match the start date for their new address?

The new address start date should either match the end date of the old address or be a future dated address. Overlapping dates between old address end dates and new address start dates can cause addressing problems in the student’s record.

  1. If a student moves back to an old address already in their Aspen address record, do I need to change the start date of that address? (i.e. is it OK to just remove the end date from it to reactivate the address in the student record or does the address need to be re-entered?)

The “old” address need to be re-entered with the new start date. This is important for the system to process the address correctly.