THUNDER BAY – It’s that time of year again, when first-time students are being introduced to school buses so that they’re ready this September when school starts.
This year is the 30th annual First Rider Program event and is intended to help students entering kindergarten get acclimated to student transportation.
“We want to make sure that, you know, if they have any apprehension or they have any questions that we give them an opportunity outside that hectic first day to get on the bus and ask those questions and and have that experience,” said Craig Murphy, Consortium Manager for Student Transportation Services.
New students were invited out to Confederation College on Saturday where they boarded busses and were taken around the campus while an instructor reviews school bus safety.
“Before they arrive here today, they go online and watch an online safety video with Safety Manager Barb, Former Retired OPP Officer Gary Cooper, as well as Buzzy Bee,” said Murphy.
“And they learn all about bus safety and then when they arrive here today for their scheduled time, they get checked in and then they get boarded on a school bus and then they take a few laps right around the college campus.”
Murphy said that the program has been extremely popular over the 30 years of its existence and has become an important staple for children in the community who are going to school for the first time.
“Thunder Bay was one of the first areas in the province to introduce such a program, so we're very proud of that and we have been running this program every year for 30 years and we have never stopped,” he said.
“Even during the pandemic, we instituted some, some of the protocols to make sure we can still run it and we have people who have parents who have gone to the program themselves when they're younger and we even have now starting to see some grandparents that that went through.”
