Not all school bus transportation companies have accepted government offer, classes start Tuesday

The Lester B. Pearson School Board says that not all bus companies that provide transportation for schools across Quebec have accepted the government offer, including several carriers that oversee routes of different LBPSB schools.

“As a result, with the return to classes tomorrow, some students will be able to avail themselves of bus service while others will not. This afternoon the school board will be contacting parents with the latest updates regarding bus service for their children’s schools. Three carriers who have approved the agreement will be offering service tomorrow on approximately 60 per cent of the LBPSB’s school bus routes, as well as a portion of the board’s mini bus routes, mostly on the island of Montreal.”

For students who will not have bus service Tuesday, parents/guardians are encouraged to use some of the mitigation measures that have been put in place to help manage the situation.

The board says these include:

• Introducing extended supervision hours to elementary school students who would normally use school bus transportation. This service will allow parents to drop off their children for supervision up to 45 minutes prior to start of school and 30 minutes after regular dismissal. These extended hours will be available as of Thursday September 1.
• For high school students, the LBPSB will open school buildings up to an hour earlier so parents/guardians can have greater flexibility in terms of when they can drop off their children.
• Encouraging the use of carpooling and, wherever possible, encouraging the use of STM/EXO public transit to get students to and from school.

With negotiations ongoing, the LBPSB remains hopeful that agreements will soon be reached with all the carriers so all students can benefit from school bus service at the start of the school year.