School Buses Will be Running With Limited Capacity in September

Thursday, 16 July 2020 13:34

Important message for parents, you will need to register beforehand to secure a seat for your child on a school bus this September.

SOUTHWESTERN ONTARIO - The Southwestern Ontario Student Transportation Services has launched a mandatory bus registration process for September.

The Ministry of Education guidelines regarding physical distancing on school buses will reduce capacity by about 60%. This means you will need to register your child to ride a school bus this year. As students return to school, every seat on the bus is vital. Some families will choose not to use bus service, so if they do not register, STS can make sure that seat is available for a student with no other way to get to school.

Parents should be aware of the following:

- Beginning the week of July 20, STS will email instructions to families of students who are eligible for bus service and are already registered for school in September.

- After July 29, Transportation Registration will be available at mybigyellowbus.ca for those who may not have received the email, but are transportation-eligible and registered at school.

- Transportation Registration will be closed on August 14 and final transportation arrangements will be posted in the Parent Portal at mybigyellowbus.ca in late August.

A Transportation Registration hotline will be available next week to assist people without internet access.

CAO Southwestern Ontario Student Transportation Services Maureen Cosyn Heath says the Registration does not apply to students who use specialized transportation to meet their unique needs as that process has already been completed for next year.

“Exactly what school will look like in September is still unknown. By implementing the bus registration system now, we can be more effective while planning to restart service. With physical distancing restrictions in place, we must use each seat intentionally to serve families who are transportation-dependent.”