It’s that time of year again where students and teachers declare the summer is over and head back to school.
Next week more than 23,000 Halifax area students will be boarding buses and heading back to class and the Halifax Regional Centre for Education (HRCE) officials are confident that changes made to its transportation services over the summer will make for a smoother and more reliable ride to and from school.
“We were hearing from parents on an almost daily basis that their children weren’t getting to school on time and were late for class,” said Doug Hadley, HRCE communications coordinator. “That happens from time to time but when it’s consistent with a particular route or a group of students then it’s a larger issue.”
A major overhaul of the transportation service was undertaken ahead of the school year to improve busing services.
It began with HRCE breaking its ten-year contract with Stock Transportation. While the company will continue as the busing provider this year, the school board says it has taken on the role of route planning and communication.
“We had things in the contract that really didn’t work well for anyone,” said Hadley. “Things like routing, things like communicating with families. We had given that work to our transportation provider rather than doing that work ourselves.”
In the meantime, HRCE has issued a request for proposal to seek out all who may be interested in the busing contract, which Stock will be also be allowed to bid on. Hadley says they will announce the successful company later in the fall.
Conservative education critic Tim Halman says he’s already receiving calls from concerned parents about busing. He says communication is key but also wants pressure put on Stock to deliver a better standard of service.
“If there’s one thing, don’t mess with the safety of our kids, and Stock definitely needs to step up,” said Halman. “They (Stock) owe parents and families the assurance that they are able to deliver their children on time.”
A new provincial transportation policy is in development, which Hadley says will help lay the ground rules and expectations for all sides.
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