School district cracking down on distance rule for busing

The English School District is reviewing bus routes throughout Newfoundland and Labrador to see if some students should be walking to school instead of taking up seats.

Some students brought home letters this week about a courtesy seating protocol for school buses. It said that, as of September, exceptions will no longer be made to the 1.6-km busing rule.

That rule states that if a student's home is 1.6 km from their school then they are not eligible for a bus and it's the family's responsibility to get them to school.

The distance is measured in public roads, not in a direct line to the school.

In previous years, school buses in some communities have stopped inside that radius based on special agreements made with the busing companies or the previous regional school districts — before the four boards amalgamated into the English School District in 2013.

Trimming down past exceptions

As busing contracts expire, the board is taking a look at routes and the students who ride the buses there, to see if any of those students are within the 1.6-km limit, and whether they should be riding the bus.

"There's a lot of history, but we're slowly but surely get to a point where we get consistency and we're treating all regions the same," said Terry Hall, an NLESD assistant director of education with a responsibility for busing.

"When we do this, it's always under the microscope to provide efficient transportation, and that students don't have to be on a bus anytime longer than they need to."

Hall said there will still be times where exceptions will be made, but only if absolutely necessary to ensure student safety.

For example, if there was construction taking place on the student's walking route or if there were not adequate sidewalks or road shoulders for them to walk on, then that might be grounds to have them take the bus instead.

Courtesy seats

There is still a chance students within the 1.6-km zone could catch a bus to school, through something called the Courtesy Seating Protocol.

That allows for students to be added to the busing list if the bus that services that route has vacant seats, but the student would still have to walk to an existing bus stop outside the 1.6-km zone.

"If there happens to be some free seats or excess capacity on that bus as it's going through [the route], students who live within the 1.6-km family responsibility zone can apply to the school for a courtesy seat," Hall said.

"If we can put some students on it we're certainly willing to," he said, adding that the capacity on the bus can only be determined after some time into the school year.