Your Journey to Safety This Program Has Been Brought to You by the Following School Divisions:

Your Journey to Safety

This Program Has Been Brought to You by the Following School

Divisions:

This Program Has Been Brought to

You by the Following Bus Companies:

A Special Thank You to our Sponsors:

Watch for the Secret School Bus!

Welcome to the “First Ride” Program

• On an average school day in Alberta, over 245,000 students are transported by school buses

245,000+245,000+

Welcome to the “First Ride” Program

• Daily routes to and from school total 363,000 kilometers

– that’s 9 times around the Earth

9 x9 x

Welcome to “First Ride”

• “First Ride” developed to encourage safety on and around the School Bus

• This program can only be effective with a “Team Effort”

• Team Members are:Parents/Responsible Caregiver,

Schools, School Boards, Bus Companies, Students

Our Expectations of Parents

• Register your child for bus transportation (not the same as registration for school)

• Ensure CBE students carry their bus pass at all times

• Attend First Ride program

Our Expectations of Parents

• Respect rules of bus and driver• Do not discuss issues or concerns

with driver, instead contact or phone bus company or school board staff

• Parents are not allowed to board school bus

Our Expectations of Parents

• Parents must know bus route letter or number, stop location and

name of school their child attends• Driver’s primary concern is the safe

transportation of all children, please support the driver in student

management issues

Parent or Caregiver Responsibilities

• Your child’s safety to and from the stop location is a parental responsibility

• Practice walking the route to & from stop location

• Utilize a consistent stop location

• Get to know your neighborhood and have an emergency plan in place

Parent Responsibilities…

continued• If you choose to let your child walk

alone to and from the stop, that is a decision you have made and the responsibility is yours

• If you plan on meeting your child at stop location, teach them what to do when you are NOT there

Parent Route Request or Enquiries

• Drivers are not permitted to make route changes

• Parents must complete and submit a Route Change Request form

to the school board transportation

department

School Responsibilities

1. Providing supervision for school bus loading and unloading and directing students onto right bus

2. Identifying kindergarten students to driver

3. Directing kindergarten students to sit in first few rows of bus

School BoardResponsibilities

• Creating and changing bus routes• Selecting safe stop locations• Ensuring communication between bus company, school and parents

Bus Company Responsibilities

• To provide:– Safe and reliable transportation–Well trained staff–Maintain late service information on My

School bus monitor website– Support for Student Safety Programs,

ie. Safety visits, evacuation drills

Bus DriversDO NOT

• Have a student list with any contact information

• Use cell phones while working• Make unauthorized stops• Allow parents or other unauthorized

persons to board the bus

• Area specified by driver where students are to wait before loading and after unloading

Safety Zone

1 meter surrounding bus on all sides

Danger Zone

If students can touch the bus they are

TOO CLOSE

Student Responsibility Loading…

• Be sure a responsible person gets you to

your stop 5 minutes before scheduled pickup

time

• Line up in single file well away from road when waiting for bus

Why 5 minutes before your stop time?

Loading…continued

• Wait in the ‘Safety Zone’

• When bus has stopped and door is opened walk (Don’t run)(Don’t run) to

the bus

Loading…continued

• Hold handrail while boarding

Student ResponsibilityOnce on the Bus…

• Go directly to a seat• Front rows are reserved for

Kindergarten students

• Once load counts are confirmed, seats will be

assigned by driver

Student Responsibility While Riding on Bus…

• Obey the bus driver– Driver’s primary concern is

‘Operating Bus Safely’• Remain seated at all times• Sit facing front of the bus• Speak in a library voicelibrary voice

Which is better? A quietquiet safe bus or a noisy one?

• Keep all body parts inside bus• Show respect for everyone on

the bus• Follow “School Bus Safety Rules”

Which passengerpassenger is safer?

Student Responsibility While Riding on Bus…

School Bus Rules

• Pick up your handout• Please review school bus rules with

your children

Student Responsibility- Unloading…

• Remain seated until bus comes to complete

stop• No pushing or shoving

Unloading…continued

• When bus has stopped and door has opened,walk (Don’t run)

to front of bus• Hold handrail while exiting

Unloading…continued

• Once off the bus, go to ‘Safety Zone’ and wait until bus pulls away

–This allows clear visibility of students by other motorists

Parent Responsibility- Unloading

• Kindergarten students must be aware of the necessity to stay on bus unless:

–A responsible person, that student recognizes, is at stop to meet them

Parent Responsibility- Unloading continued

• Kindergarten students must tell the driver if a parent or responsible care-giver is not at the stop

• Remind your child to stay on the bus• Remember: If you choose to let your

child walk alone to and from stop, that is a decision you have made and the responsibility is yours

Things You

NEED to Know

Route Information

• When referring to your child’s bus routeknow the:

– School & bus company name

– Route letter or number– Stop location and time• Signs are posted in 3rd window

Route Description Sample

• A sample route description is included in the information package that parents and guardians receive at the end of the FIRST RIDE session

Dressing for the Trip

• Ensure your child is dressed for weather conditions

• Ensure your child’s clothing is safe; light colours are more

visible• Remember: Clothing your child likes

may not always be safest

In the Event of a Late Bus

• Students should not be left at the stop alone

• Have a plan if you can not pick up your children and share it with your

family or other care givers

In the Event of a Late Bus

• If there is no obvious reason for delay and you have waited 15 minutes or more, contact bus company

• Parents continue to be responsible until their child boards the bus

Possible Causes for Delays

• Weather & road conditions• Road construction/Repairs• Traffic delays• Dual routing delays• Driver absenteeism• Mechanical problems

Please check the website www.myschoolbusmonitor.cawww.myschoolbusmonitor.ca

for information on bus delays

**Please contact the School Bus company for any other information if you are not able use the website listed above.

Missing Caregiver -1

• Students must tell driver there is no one there to meet them

– Parent, reinforce with your child to ‘Stay on the Bus’

– Remember if you choose to let your child walk to and from home

unsupervised, that is your decision and responsibility is yours

– All buses equipped with two-way radios

Missing Caregiver - 2

• Bus arrives at stop and child tells driver their caregiver is not there.

• Child should have contact phone numbers & address in their backpack or jacket.

• Bus company will attempt to contact parent or guardian while driver

completes route.

Missing Caregiver - 3

• In extreme situations, where carrier is unable to contact school or

parent, student may be turned over to care of Calgary Police Services

• Please Note: Repeat occurrences could result in loss of busing

privileges

Missing Student

• Bus arrives at stop and caregiver informs driver student is missing

• Driver contacts ‘Dispatch.’• Dispatch calls school – at this point,

between school and bus company, student is located

• Often a spouse/partner already picked student up at school

Missing Student

• Student may have boarded wrong bus or is still at school

– NOT all schools take attendance, check with your school to determine current protocol

• After all possibilities have been exhausted by responsible person, school and bus company:

Parents should phone police

Missing Items

• Bus companies are not responsible for items left on bus

• Check with driver on following trip• Lost & found items are normally

returned to school, not to bus company

Non-transportable Items

• For student safety and allergy reasons, some items are not transported according to

Alberta Department of Transportation and Utilities:

• Animals Unsecured itemsie: Large school projects, band

instruments, skateboards, hockey sticks, etc. For a complete list of restricted items on all school buses refer to the school board transportation office or website. i.e. CBE administrative regulation Policy AR6096

In Closing

• We’re all part of the same Team:– Parents/Responsible Person– Schools– School Boards– Bus Companies– Students

• The Team’s main goal is ‘Student Safety’

• Let’s work together to make this our safest year ever

This Program Has Been Brought to You by the Following School

Divisions:

This Program Has Been Brought to

You by the Following Bus Companies:

A Special Thank You to our Sponsors:

Your Journey to Safety