Calgary public students have been back at school for less than two weeks and already the CBE is admitting it needs to rework the bus system.
This year, students who take the bus were told to walk to a consolidated stop where they would then be picked up for the ride to school.
Elementary school children were supposed to be walking no more than 1.6 kilometres to the stops and the maximum distance for those in junior high was to be no more than 1.8 kilometres.
Some children were forced to walk up to seven kilometres to the common stops and that prompted an outcry from a number of Calgary parents.
The CBE says it didn’t follow its own guidelines and on Friday announced that a report will be given to its trustees to add more buses and make sure no child walks more than 1.8 kilometres to catch the bus.
“By mid-October, we expect our students to ride on yellow school buses to be accessing stops that are in alignment with the travel distances of 1.6 kilometres and 1.8 kilometers for elementary and junior high schools respectively,” said Superintendent Frank Coppinger.
“We don’t see this as a change at all so the CBE is still keeping the congregated stops and all they’re doing is fixing problems that should have never occurred in the first place,” said Lisa Davis, President, Calgary Association of Parents and School Councils.
The CBE says about 600 students had to walk more than 1.8 kilometres to their new bus stops and that it hopes to have the new buses and routes up and running before the winter weather hits.
Click HERE for see the report.
(With files from Brad MacLeod)
