1. Your Journey to Safety

2. This Program Has Been Brought to You by the Following School Divisions:

3. This Program Has Been Brought to You by the Following Bus Companies:

4. A Special Thank You to our Sponsors:

5. Watch for the Secret School Bus!

6. Welcome to the “First Ride” Program
On an average school day in Alberta, over 245,000 students are transported by school buses
245,000+

7. Welcome to the “First Ride” Program
Daily routes to and from school total 363,000 kilometers
– that’s 9 times around the Earth
9 x

8. 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

9. 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

10. 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

11. 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

12. 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

13. 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

14. 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

15. School Responsibilities
Providing supervision for school bus loading and unloading and directing students onto right bus
Identifying kindergarten students to driver
Directing kindergarten students to sit in first few rows of bus

16. School Board Responsibilities
Creating and changing bus routes
Selecting safe stop locations
Ensuring communication between bus company, school and parents

17. 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

18. Bus Drivers DO 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

19. Safety Zone
Area specified by driver where students are to wait before loading and after unloading

20. 1 meter surrounding bus on all sides
Danger Zone
1 meter surrounding bus on all sides
If students can touch the bus they are
TOO CLOSE

21. 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?

22. Loading…continued Wait in the ‘Safety Zone’
When bus has stopped and door is opened walk (Don’t run) to the bus

23. Loading…continued
Hold handrail while boarding

24. Student Responsibility Once 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

25. Which is better? A quiet safe bus
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 voice
Which is better? A quiet safe bus
or a noisy one?

26. Which passenger is safer?
Student Responsibility While Riding on Bus…
Keep all body parts inside bus
Show respect for everyone on the bus
Follow “School Bus Safety Rules”
Which passenger is safer?

27. School Bus Rules Pick up your handout
Please review school bus rules with your children

28. Student Responsibility - Unloading…
Remain seated until bus comes to complete stop
No pushing or shoving

29. Unloading…continued
When bus has stopped and door has opened, walk (Don’t run) to front of bus
Hold handrail while exiting

30. 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

31. 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

32. 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

33. Things You NEED to Know

34. Route Information When referring to your child’s bus route know the:
School & bus company name
Route letter or number
Stop location and time
Signs are posted in 3rd window

35. 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

36. 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

37. 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

38. 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

39. Possible Causes for Delays
Please check the website
for information on bus delays
Weather & road conditions
Road construction/Repairs
Traffic delays
Dual routing delays
Driver absenteeism
Mechanical problems
**Please contact the School Bus company for any other information if you are not able use the website listed above.

40. 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

41. 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.

42. 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

43. 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

44. Missing Student Parents should phone police
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

45. 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

46. Non-transportable Items
For student safety and allergy reasons, some items are not transported according to Alberta Department of Transportation and Utilities:
Animals Unsecured items
ie: 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

47. 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

48. This Program Has Been Brought to You by the Following School Divisions:

49. This Program Has Been Brought to You by the Following Bus Companies:

50. A Special Thank You to our Sponsors:

51. Your Journey to Safety