THUNDER BAY -- Parents in the city received some disappointing news on Friday about student transportation in the new school year.
Student Transportation Services announced on Friday that, due to a new transportation formula introduced by the province, distance requirements to be eligible for buses have doubled for most age groups.
“We were informed by the Ministry of Education that the way student transportation is going to be funded across the province of Ontario is based on the distances that the students live from their school," said Craig Murphy, consortium manager with Student Transportation Services.
“In the past, we were simply provided funding and our local school boards determined what the best policies were to be able to provide transportation to our students with that funding.
“Now, the funding is directly linked to how far the students are from schools and they have to meet a minimum distance, which unfortunately, in many cases is double what our current policies are.”
This change to who is eligible for transportation affects the Conseil scolaire de district catholique des Aurores boréales, the Thunder Bay Catholic District School Board, Lakehead Public Schools, and the Conseil scolaire du Grand Nord.
As of Sept. 1, junior kindergarten and senior kindergarten students must live a minimum of 800 metres, which is twice as far as what the distance currently is.
Those in Grades 1 to 3 must now live a minimum of 1.6 kilometres, which is also double the current distance.
Students in Grades 4 to 8 remain unchanged at 1.6 kilometres.
Those in Grades 9 to 12 are now required to live a minimum of 3.2 kilometres away from school, twice as far as the current distance.
Funding is not provided for students who do not meet the distance qualification for their grade level, even if they share a household with a student who is eligible at a different school.
Murphy said he is aware this news may be quite upsetting for many parents who rely on buses to get their kids to school.
“I don't blame them. They have come to rely on our service to help them get their children to and from school, so it can be quite upsetting to find out that it's no longer available,” he said.
“It's certainly not something we want to happen. But, quite frankly, these families who are affected are just no longer funded for transportation by the province of Ontario.”
