Parents start petition over changes to Regina Public School bus routes

An online Facebook group called ‘Regina Public School Board, bring our buses back,’ is gaining traction as the end of the school year approaches.

Changes to the bus route mean students within a one-kilometre radius of a Regina public school will have to find another way to get there.

It’s frustrating to Anthony and Tiffany Eberle — their children will be losing bus services in the fall. Now, they will have to walk across a creek and navigate busy streets.

READ MORE: Regina schools end preschool programs due to provincial budget cuts

“My wife and I moved here two-and-half years ago, just because it was on the bus route,” Anthony said.

Tweet This Click to share quote on Twitter: "My wife and I moved here two-and-half years ago, just because it was on the bus route," Anthony said.

Tiffany runs a daycare out of their home. Parents will drop off their kids in the morning and from there, the kids are picked up by bus to go to school. The route changes are already affecting business.

“We’ve already had a parent or two pull out, because they say that, ‘It’s way too far for our kids to walk,'” Anthony said.

The changes to the transportation guidelines will impact 1,100 students, but the school division says it will save them over $1,350,000.

For Amanda McCall, the savings aren’t worth the risk of the safety for her children that are forced to find another ride to school.

“They’re not street-smart, my children, and they’ve never been taught to cross a train track… I can teach them in the couple months in the summer, but still, there are distractions for little kids, and you see a bird or someone is talking to you… I’m just not confident they would make it all the way there and all the way back safely,” McCall said.

READ MORE: Regina mom calls Education Minister comments about restoring preschool funding insulting

Anthony and others plan to express their concerns at the Regina Public School Board meeting on May 23.

“If we have enough parents that get behind this movement that join our Facebook page… we can make a difference here. There’s people that are very angry about this,” Anthony said.

Tweet This Click to share quote on Twitter: "If we have enough parents that get behind this movement that join our Facebook page… we can make a difference here. There's people that are very angry about this," Anthony said.

Global reached out to the board for comment but no one was available.