School District No. 69 Transportation Information

​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​Riding the school bus is a privilege that can be suspended at any time for inappropriate behavior. The district offers a busing system to help get students to/from school/home/daycare. Other than school field trips, buses are not used for any other purpose (ie. play dates, birthday parties, work or sports activities). Please do not send notes with your child asking to ride another bus for such reasons. 

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APPLYING FOR BUSING

All students who need to ride a school bus to get to school and back home during the course of the school year must apply annually for ridership using the districts online Bus Application Form (one application per student/address).

The information you put on the bus pass application is the information we use to create the driver manifests for each route.  If you have a change in address or contact information, it is your responsibility to inform the school as well as the Transportation Department. It is important, for safety reasons, that this information stay up to date.

FEES:

        Eligible Riders $0.00

        Courtesy Riders $125.00/year per student*

*Families with an annual income of less than $50,000.00 can apply for a payment plan or to have bussing fees waved by completing the Financial Support Request Form and providing proof of income.

Eligible Rider – home address is within the catchment area & outside of the walk limits for the school child attends. Addresses must be registered with the school. See district School Locator Tool to identify your catchment school.

Courtesy Rider – home address is within in the catchment area and within the walk limit or outside the catchment area of the school child  attends. 2nd home address must be registered with the school.

WALK LIMITS  

As per Policy 704 walk limits are:

    • K - Gr. 7     3.2 KM with the exception of BES, EES and NBES which have a walk limit of 1.5 KM
    • Gr. 8 - 12    4.8 KM

TIMELINES

April 27 - May 31, 2023 only Eligible bus pass applications will be processed, on a first come/first served basis.

    • If a bus reaches capacity, an Eligible Rider wait list will be created.  You will be notified if you are put on a wait list. 
    • If you don't hear from the Transportation Dept., your application has been accepted.
    • Courtesy rider applications received during this time will not be processed until after June 1.

June 1 – June 30 2023 Courtesy, as well as late Eligible bus pass applications will be processed on a first come/first served basis as space is available on the bus route(s) requested.

    • Courtesy riders that are offered a space on the bus will be notified and asked to pay the necessary fees.  When payment is received the application will be finalized. If payment is not made within 5 business days of being offered the space, the application will be re-dated and put back into the queue. 
    • If a bus reaches capacity, a wait list will be created. You will be notified if you are put on a wait list. 


BUSING PROCEDURES

BUS PASS CARDS

  • Bus pass cards are mandatory for all students riding to/from school and must be electronically swiped when getting on and off the school bus;
  • Without a bus pass, students can be refused transportation on the school bus;
  • When a bus pass is issued, it stays with the child  throughout their school years with SD69.
      • At the end of each school year, the passes are deactivated. 
      • After the application process is completed for this year, existing passes will be reactivated.
      • New or replacement passes are distributed through the school beginning in late August.
      • Replacement passes can be obtained by completing the Lost/Replaced Bus Pass Form and paying a $15.00 fee.

BUS SCHEDULE

        The current bus Route and Sto​p Schedule​​ will be updated regularly.

  • Morning bus - children need to be at the bus stop 10 min. ahead of time.  This means out, at the stop, ready to get on the bus, not in a car. 
  • Afternoon bus -  Kindergarten children must be met at the bus stop.

The Qualicum School District Transportation Department utilizes the School Messenger service to communicate emergency or short notice route impact updates including bus cancelations. Opt-in for this communication by texting YES to 978338.


STUDENT BEHAVIOR ON THE BUS

Any disturbance on the bus is a safety hazard.  Unacceptable behavior includes:

Fighting                               Inappropriate language                Spitting                                             Vandalism

Littering                              Throwing objects                            Not being properly seated            Roughhousing

Vaping                                 Screaming/yelling unnecessarily

A driver may issue a 'Student Incident Report' for any of the above-mentioned behaviors as well as:

Being late at bus stop                    Leavin​g bus stop before it is safe              Disrespectful to driver

Failure to produce a bus pass      Refusing to sit in assigned seat                  Distracting the bus driver

If your child is issued a 'Student Incident Report' it must be signed by the parent/guardian and returned to the bus driver before the student can ride the bus.


LOADING AND UNLOADING

It is the parent's responsibility to ensure their child's safety getting to and from the bus stop or when waiting for the bus to arrive at the bus stop.

Students must wait in a safe location at the bus stop and not approach the school bus until it comes to a complete stop and the bus driver opens the door indicating it is safe to board.

The school district uses the 'Baltimore System' for the loading and unloading of passengers.

Loading Students:

Where a bus pull-off is provided:

  1. Bus pulls into loading zone and clear of traffic.
  2. Takes on students without using red flashing lights or 4-way flashers.​

Where a bus pull-off is not provided:

  1. Bus stays in own lane.
  2. Bus uses overhead flashing lights and takes on​​ students


Unloading Students:

Where a bus pull-off is provided:

  1. Bus pulls into loading zone, without any lights flashing.
  2. Students unload and stay by the roadside; bus leaves; students disperse when safe.

Where a Bus Pull-off is not provided:

  1. Bus stops in own lane; uses overhead flashing lights.
  2. Students unload and stay by the roadside; bus leaves; students disperse when safe.

INCLEMENT WEATHER ROUTES

In an effort to ensure student and staff safety during inclement weather the Transportation Department has created modified bus routes to be utilized on days where the district determines inclement weather has made some roads in our service area unsafe for bus traffic.

You can see the inclement weather alternative stops listed now on our published 2023-24 Inclement Posted Route Information.pdf

​​​​Approximately 60 of our bus stops are located in areas that we have determined may become unsafe to access with a school bus in inclement weather conditions. This process allows us to provide an alternate stop for those families served by those stops at a safe location as nearby as possible to the original stop.

​Should a day occur where snow or ice create unsafe road conditions for bussing, the Transportation Department will communicate to bussing families that inclement weather routes will be utilized to keep everyone safe while still attempting to get everyone to school. This communication would go out via email, text and phone as early as possible to bussing families for each day of the school year when these conditions are deemed to exist. This will enable families to get students whose stops have a listed alternate inclement weather stop to their alternate stop location instead of their regular stop in time for the school bus. 





Transportation Contact Information


Transportation Department (Registration/bus passes/department info) - 250-954-3022

Transportation Bus Dispatch (Live route issues) - 250-954-3023 ​