School Bus Safety

1. Be appropriately dressed for weather conditions in case of breakdown or delays.
2. Be at the bus stop at least 3-5 minutes before scheduled pickup time; stand well away from the bus stop in the safety zone. 
3. Wait for the bus to come to a complete stop before getting on or off of the bus. 
4. Cross the road 3 meters in front of the bus. Do not cross the road until the bus  driver signals you to do so.
5. Go directly to the seat assigned to you. Sit in your seat facing forward at all times while the bus is in motion.
6. Do not open windows without permission from the bus driver. Do not put arms, hands, head or objects out of the window. 
7. Put all garbage in a container; do not throw it out of the window or on the floor.
8. Loud or noisy behaviour is prohibited.
9. Use of tobacco or alcohol products of any type is prohibited—including vaping.
10. Electronic audio equipment with adequate sound retention headphones may be used by passengers, at the discretion of the driver.
11. The aisle of the bus must be kept clear at all times; keep hands, feet and all objects out of the aisle.
12. Please inform the bus driver when you will not be on the bus. Attendance will be taken.
13. The Bus Driver is responsible for passenger safety. Follow the direction of the bus driver at all times.
14. Any violations of the rules or damage to the bus will be reported to the principal. 
15. Bullying or other forms of harassment will be immediately reported to the  appropriate school principal.

• Parents/Guardians are responsible for the safety of their children prior to boarding the bus and after disembarking from the bus.
• Supervise your children at the bus stop to ensure their safety while waiting for the  bus. Children must know what to do if the bus is late or does not arrive.
• All students must be registered to ride.
• Please review the bus rider rules with your child.
• Advise the Transportation Office and your bus driver if your child has any medical or
  behavior conditions.
• Parents shall make every effort to inform the driver when bus service is not required.
• All Kindergarten and Grade 1 students must be met by a responsible adult on and  off the bus. Please inform the bus driver if other arrangements need to be made—for example, walking home with an older sibling.
• Ensure their children are properly dressed for weather conditions.
• Parents are required to pay for willful damages their children cause to the school bus.

Please note: The Division may equip school buses with electronic monitoring devices ensuring student and driver safety as per Administrative Procedure 181. 

• Skis and Ski Poles
• Snowboards
• Skateboards
• Scooters
• Curling Brooms
• Hockey Sticks
• Baritone Saxophone 
• Bass Trombone
• French Horn
• Guitar
• Tuba
• Animals
• Firearms
• Explosives
• Knives, including pocket knives
• Flammable materials and substances
• Fuel, other than in the fuel system and fuel tank of the bus
• Anything of a dangerous or objectionable nature, or that might endanger the lives or safety of persons in the bus.

Any request to carry articles now mentioned in the above section must be made to the Transportation Manager.

Each pick up and drop off location has a designated Safe Zone where the driver has instructed students to wait. Once the Safe Zone is established students should always wait at this location.  

Students must NEVER cross in front of the school bus until the driver has signaled them to do so. Bus drivers will not signal students to cross until the traffic has come to a complete stop within the bus driver’s Safe Zone.

A bus driver is only permitted to let students off at their designated stop.

Bus Stop Location

Outside of Town Limits:

Peace River School Division has established a 400 meter walk limit for students living outside of the 1.6 km (Kindergarten through Grade 6) and 2 km (Grade 7-12) walk distances. Often the pick up point is located at the end of the driveway as yard service is not provided. If the distance between the driveway and the existing bus route is less than 400 meters, students may be required to walk along the road to a safe stop location along the main bus route.

Inside Town Limits:

School bus stops located within the town limits are in accordance with the 400 meter walk limit policy and are reviewed annually by the Transportation Department. Considerations regarding stop placement include:

• A safe location for all students while waiting for the bus;
• A visible location with consideration to bus maneuverability;
• Location of student residence in relation to the stop.

Please contact the school by phone or email a minimum of 24 hours before you wish to have your student rides as a guest. Students can only ride to a scheduled bus stop, no other stops are permitted.

Bus drivers are instructed to only accept bus notes that are issued by the school.

Due to bus seating limits, some routes may not permit guest riders.

• The Transportation Manager may cancel buses either individually or collectively when weather and/or road conditions are a safety risk to students. This includes all scheduled field trips.
• If Extreme weather conditions arise after students have arrived at their schools, the Transportation Manager may authorize bus drivers to pick up students earlier int he day for the purpose of bring them home. In this case, the school Principal will notify parents and guardians and not permit any elementary student on the bus until their parents or guardians have been contacted.
• If it is unsafe for buses to be on the road in the afternoon on a school day, buses will be cancelled. The school Principal will notify parents and guardians of the situation and hold students at the school until they can be picked up by a parent or guardian. 
• Buses will not operate when the temperature is -35°C actual, or -48°C with windchill, or lower at key weather station locations. In the mornings, the Transportation Manager will make this decision at 6 a.m.
• All bus service cancellations will be posted on the BusPlanner Alerts webpage and notification emails or text messages will be sent to registered parents and guardians.
• Bus service cancellations may also be be posted to relevant school websites and social media pages, although this is a secondary source of information. The primary source for all bus service disruptions is the BusPlanner Alerts page.
• Wide-spread cancellations will be posted to the Division's website and social media pages.
• Each bus driver is also responsible for notifying their route parents and guardians of bus service cancellations.
• All route delays of 10 minutes or greater will be posted on the BusPlanner Alerts webpage and notification emails or text messages will be sent to registered parents and guardians.
• Route delays or cancellations in the afternoon will be posted on the BusPlanner Alerts webpage and on the schools website and social media channels. 
• Parents are responsible to ensure their children are properly dressed for weather conditions.
• Refer to AP 133, Inclement Weather

Peace River School Division runs a school bus fleet of over 100+ school buses.  All buses are equipped with GPS tracking systems and some buses have camera systems.

Each bus is inspected daily by the school bus driver and follow a bi-annual CVIP inspection schedule.

All buses have radio communications systems installed in the event of minor communication or other incidents.