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l ' ’ ' ' WATERIDO cumulus - Wednesday, September i0. 20” . 3 i End Of the line a a s3”: ' » a... 7:; I, .. ~ . . a o a o o o 2.: aft. :‘ ,. 7" .' ~" 2 Change m bus ellg'lblllly leads to A. -‘ r . . 2.11:: .2; in: ‘15“? - worries about Chlld safety ‘-: Fail... » . Bvlmes Mason The audit calculated the Pyne's house- : ’ :1 ‘ '2 (.‘hmnicle Staff hold was about 2.9 km from the school if I" ' ’ ' ,‘ Aleesha walked using a particular set of ~:-.§ he parents ofa Grade 1 1 student at St. uails. Her father argues the distance is actu- : . [:53 David Catholic Secondary School are ally 3.4 km if measured by the drive and his ‘ worried about their daughter‘s safety daughter should continue to be bused. , after the school informed them she was not The Catholic board has received several ~ .7 W. eligible for a bus this school year. other complaints due to the change. said . . ‘ "#1 Rick Pyne said the trails his daughter John Shewchuk, chiefmanagingol‘ficer. 5 fly? .2\leesha must walk along Bourgault said staff " $3: to school are fine now. only use trails in their . “j a {do but in the winter they'll U ' walking calculations that :5 3,1: ‘16 if} become dangerous as 1 d0” t want,my they know are safe for Stu-3&1; S,_"‘“£i_;.«:“*. g snow and ice piles up. lie daughter walla "g dents throughout the year. g “313“ ' :22 . also worries about Alec: meaning they are clear of W 7“ 1‘ 5: , ‘ sha walking to school in through ”1956 debris or snow and have a - '9'}: “17:3! ”to; the dark. pathways. Shes Gilly crossing guard. ifrequired. _?§é- ‘ 7“ ‘ 2 He said it takes his _ _ " “We have good contact 3-2;; , '5'“ ”l ' daughter about an hour 16 years 01d' with the municipalities . to walk to school. “and I â€"Rick Pyne and when a trail is not 3 don't want mygaughter minted that his daughter. Marsha is maintained we do not ‘ walking through these noIongereligibivfaraschonlbus include it in our distance ,2; pathways. She's only 16- calculation.” Bourgault A" years-old.“ They live on said. (‘amille Crescent in Waterloo. The transportation group's eligibility ." "i don't have a problem if it's 20 or 30 guidelines, published in 2010. provide a 3"- minutes. but an hour? And it'll be even breakdown of walking distances for each i, longer in the winter.” grade on their website, www.stswr.ca. : Up until this year high school students in in the Catholic board. from Kindergarten the neighbourhood received bus service to Grade 3 students do not receive a bus if a, from Grand River Transit. but this past they'rewithin 0.8kmoftheschool. .g spring the family received notice from Stu That distance doubles to 1.6 km for stu~ ‘ ‘ dent Transportation Services of Waterloo dents in Grades4~8. i - Region, which prtwides bussing for about In the public board. Kindergarten stu- 30.000 public and (atholic board students dents do not receive a bus if they're within g . ' in the region. that they fell within the school 0.8 km of their school. That distance dou~ utes. resulting in each board saving about $1 $150 per student per year to operate the ye! board's acceptable walking distance for high bles to 1.6 km for students in Grades 1-8. An million in bus costs by using the same vehi- low school buses. Bourgault said. school students, which is 3.2 kilometres. unintended consequence of this restriction. cle to transport students up to three times Some CRT buses are still used on routes Benoit Bourgault. general manager of the however. is increased vehicle traffic around every school day, where yellow buses were deemed too expen transportation consortium. said the change SChOOIS in the mornings and afternoons as CRT also went ahead with an increase to sive or would not have been full. but the was made following a mutine audit of fami- parents drop their kids 03': most fares in July. including the elimination total number of students using Giff buses lies attending St David and St. Mary‘s 'There‘s far too many people getting drivr of the discounted student pass, meaning the fell from roughly 2,500 last year to between ('atholic schools. the audit found about 60 on to school.” said Bourgault. increase for the school board is about $16 a financial) this year. Bourgault said. students at St. David‘s were impacted by the The switch from CRT buses to mostly yel: month per student. Pyne said he is talking with other parents change low school buses lh'LS fall had no influence That increased school board costs from in the neighbourhood about organizing a Some were rcceivmg bus service when over which students must now walk to $48 per student per month to $64. Previous» carpool for their kids. and is planning to they shouldn't have. while others were walk; school. Bourgault added. ly, the boards paid for the expense and only appeal the decision to stop offering bus mg when they should have been getting a That change was made after both boards charged students 35 for a photo card. semce to the area. bus. decided to shift bell times by up to 20 min- It only costs the board between Sim and - wilhfilesfrom Melissa Murray ?- ‘ . . _ As ,j . . g ’3 . “51‘1“- \ I, if; -3 ‘,"\ --\ T . F .,.. F g [â€" \- .- _. 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