Statement

STSWR is committed to planning and delivering safe, effective and efficient transportation service. Wherever beneficial, routes may be shared to avoid duplication of costs. Students from all partner School Boards may be transported on the same vehicle at the same time.

Procedure

STSWR staff will plan routes in the safest, most effective and efficient manner possible using the criteria listed below with the aid of computerized planning software and input from the bus operators as required. Optimization of the routing network will be conducted annually to improve the overall efficiency and effectiveness of the transportation network.

Criteria

STSWR uses the following criteria to provide safe, efficient and effective student transportation.

Length of Time on the Bus

Wherever possible, every effort will be made to ensure that students will not be on the bus longer than 60 minutes (one way).

Shared Transportation

Students from all school boards may be transported on the same vehicle at the same time.

Special Needs Transportation

School Boards will identify students with special needs that require specialized transportation services. For further details please see Special Needs Transportation

Mode of Transportation

STSWR will determine the mode of transportation service to be provided in all cases. This may include taxis, public transit and contracted school buses and/or vans.

Maximum Number of Students Transported on a Bus

The number of students transported on a school bus will not exceed the manufacturer’s capacity for that vehicle. Where practical, bus seats will be loaded as follows:

• JK to Grade 6 – 3 per seat
• Grade 7 to 12 – 2 per seat

No students are permitted to stand on the bus.

Distance to Stops

While the location of bus stops will be determined exclusively by STSWR, the following guidelines will be used in determining bus stop locations.

• Students living in urban municipalities or established settlement areas may be required to walk up to the following distances to their bus stops.

Grade	Distance
Junior and Senior Kindergarten	0.5 km
1- 8	1.0 km
9- 12	1.6 km

• As a general rule, students living in rural areas outside urban municipalities or established settlement areas will be picked up or dropped off close to their laneway. Where this is not possible, they may be required to walk up to 0.5 km from their property to a bus stop.

Bus Stops

In urban or developed areas, bus stops are centrally located to safely accommodate groups of students. Stop locations are reviewed annually and moved or relocated if necessary.

Where possible, bus stops for Junior Elementary students will not exceed 20 students. STSWR will make every effort to not exceed 10 JK and SK students per stop.

Buses may not enter housing complexes, students are expected to come out of the complex to their stop.