Important information:

a.    Arrangement for student transportation are done through your School Administration Office;

b.    Bus stops and bus routes are pre-designated to serve each school and each neighbourhood.  It is expected that students will walk up to 0.5 km to their nearest bus stop.  Most parents do not see the bus stop from their house. Younger children should be accompanied by a parent or an older child to and from the nearest bus stop, especially at the start of the school year;

c.      Bus drivers do their best to run their routes on schedule.  However, delays should be expected, especially during bad whether conditions and at the start of the school year it normally takes more time to load students on the routes. 

d.    Major delays will be announced on the local radio stations.  Major delays can be caused by mechanical breakdown and road closures due to traffic accidents.

The Alberta School Act (Section 51) provides that a school board shall transport a student who :

a.    resides within the attendance area of the school in which the student is enrolled;

b.    resides within the district or division; and

c.    resides at a distance greater than 2.4 km from that school.

In computing distances for the purposes of this section, the distance of a residence from a school or from a bus route shall be the shortest distance measured along a travelled road or public right of way between the boundary of the lot on which the student's parent resides.

The Alberta School Act also establishes the maximum distance from the residence to a designated bus stop  at 2.4 km.

The School Act also allow a board to charge the parent of a student receiving transportation.

References:

Alberta School Act

Alberta Regulation 250/98: Student Transportation Regulations

Ft McMurray Catholic School Operating Policy and Procedure #381 - Student Transportation 

Fort McMurray Catholic Schools - Transportation Policy

Student Transportation services are provided in accordance with Operating Policy and Procedure #381. The following transportation fees are in effect for School Year 2010/11:

Eligible Transportation:  This service is available to all students whose residence (home address) is 2.4 km or more from their designated school. The basic fee for this service is ninety five dollars ($95.00) per student, annually.

User Pay Service: This service is offered to all students in Kindergarten to Grade 8 if their residence (home address) is between 1.0 km and 2.4 km from their designated school provided there is an established yellow school bus route and provided that space is available on the yellow bus. The annual fee for this service is as follows:

            First child:     $ 360  (or 3 payments of $ 120)

           Two Children: $ 445  (or 3 payment of $ 149)

           Three & more: $520 (or 3 payments of $ 174)

Payments are due on September 30th, November 15th and February 15th. Failure to pay fees will result in loss of bus privileges

Please note that there is no Provincial Transportation Grant provided for user pay service.  In accordance with the Alberta School Act, students residing less than 2.4 km from their designated school are not entitled to any transportation services.  This service is provided by the Fort McMurray School Districts as a convenience to parents and students.

No bus service will be provided to less than 1.0 km from a designated school.  Students whose residence is within 1.0 km from their designated school may walk to a user pay bus stop may to access the service if they wish.

Two different types of services are provided:

Yellow School Bus:  This service provided to students in Kindergarten to Grade 8 under a joint contract between the two school districts and Sparksman Transportation Ltd.  

City Transit:  Eligible High School students are provided with monthly transit pass upon payment of their annual transportation fee ($ 80 per year).

CHOICE SCHOOL
Parents may choose to enrol a student in a school outside of their designated attendance boundary and parents are responsible for transportation services. These students may access transportation services only if there is an existing yellow bus route and only if space is available, taking into consideration that Eligible and User Pay riders have priority over Choice Students.

Students will pay a total cost of $355 per year/per child . There is no family rate.

BABYSITTER
Students may choose to be transported from either their home address or from a babysitter's address, but not both.

Students transported from a babysitter's address must attend the school designated for that area.

In order to be considered an eligible student when transported from a babysitter's address, the residence (home address) of the student must be 2.4 km or greater from the designated school of the student.

The same rule applies for students living at two addresses....transportation can only be done from one location.

SPECIAL NEEDS AND MEDICAL CONDITIONS
Transportation services may be made available for students requiring special transportation arrangements. 

The Special Education Coordinator, in consultation with the Principal and the Secretary-Treasurer, will determine the need and type of transportation required for both temporary and long term medical condition students. The school is responsible for informing the driver of the medical conditions of the students

TRANSPORTATION SCHEDULING AND ROUTING
Bus routes, schedules, and stops will be developed in consultation with the transportation company, the School Administration and the Transportation Coordinator. The purpose of bus scheduling and routing will be to achieve maximum service with rendering reasonable and equal service to all students, by supporting the enhancement of educational programming and school environments.

Designated bus stops have been identified to ensure the walking distance from any residence in a given area will be 0.5 km or less where possible. In order to minimize the length of bus route, designated stops will be at least 0.4 km apart.

Bus Routes

Bus routes, schedules and stops shall be provided based on the following criteria:

a.    Bus scheduling and routing should be designed to optimize service at a reasonable cost;

b.    Routes, schedules and stops will ensure student safety;

c.    Routes will be established within each school's attendance area;

d.    New routes will be established only when full capacity of the existing route has been reached or is imminent;

e.    Whenever possible, ride times for students should be 50 minutes or less. In exceptional circumstances this may be extended to 60 minutes.

f.    Wherever possible, yellow buses will serve two routes, both in the morning and the afternoon; and

Bus Stops

Students will be picked up and dropped off at a designated stop. The location of stops shall be determined using the following criteria:

a.    The distance between bus stops shall be no less than 0.4 km;

b.    The walking distance from any residence to a designated bus stop should be 0.5 km or less;

c.    No bus stops will be located less than 1.0 km from the designated school for that route;

d.    The same bus stops shall be used for all yellow bus routes serving the same neighbourhood;

e.    The number of bus stops shall be minimized in order to reduce the length of the bus ride as much as possible.

g.    Except for special needs transportation, students will not be picked-up or dropped-off at their residence.