Board extends busing eligibility for secondary school students

June 29, 2014 · 0 Comments

At its June 17 meeting, the Dufferin-Peel Catholic District School Board approved a reduction in transportation distance eligibility for secondary school students from 4.8 to 3.8 kilometres.
The decision means that approximately 2,050 more students in Grades 9 to 12, who live 3.8 kms or further from their neighbourhood school, will now be eligible to take the bus to and from class.
“Distances are measured along sidewalks, roads and paved pedestrian walkways from the school’s property line to the home property line using specialized geographic information system (GIS) software,” said Beth Bjarnason, superintendent of planning and operations.
The board’s budget approval June 17 included a $750,000 transportation expenditure to enable a matching of busing eligibility with its co-terminous Peel District School Board, which had recently reduced its walking distance for secondary students following previous alignment with the Dufferin-Peel distance.
Student transportation in Peel Region is administered by STOPR (Student Transportation of Peel Region), a consortium, formed by agreement between the two boards, for the purpose of providing a common administration of transportation services for students residing in Peel.
Dufferin-Peel parents/guardians and students can check their eligibility for busing based on the new distance after July 1 by visiting the STOPR website at www.stopr.ca and clicking on the Am I Eligible for Transportation link.
After Aug. 25, additional personalized busing information will be available for parents/guardians and students through the Parent/Student Login link on the STOPR website, including bus stop location, pick-up and drop-off times. To ensure privacy of information and security, parents/guardians or students will be required to enter the Ontario Education Number (OEN) which can be found on the student’s report card.