Bus 86 of the dalton bus lines goes down to pick up FRENCH students.. and I am so happy for them cause last year they walked a far distance to catch the bus. and they live .9km from the highway.. Drives into the driveway and turns around.. But it seems that a English school bus can’t do that..

This is from the Ontario School Bus AssociationWelcome to the Ontario School Bus Association Every one of the 800,000 children aboard Ontario school buses deserves to arrive at school safe, secure, on time and ready to learnhttp://www.osba.on.ca/links.htm

Ministry of Education 
The Ontario Ministry of Education (MED) provides a grant to school boards for the purchase of student transportation services.
However, the decision regarding how transportation is provided rests with individual school boards.

Ministry of Education,
Mowat Block,
900 Bay Street,
Toronto, Ontario M7A 1L2

http://www.edu.gov.on.ca

School BoardsIn Ontario, school boards are not required to provide transportation services.
Transportation is therefore a privilege and not a right.

It is the responsibility of each individual school board to develop and maintain a set of transportation policies, including safety provisions.
(I think our family concerns fall in this catagory and would like to know what is concidered a saftey concern for provisions and The children are forced to walk with the bears and IT IS a safety concern..)

School boards determine and contract for the transportation services that will be provided to their students.
Only a few boards choose to own and operate their own buses.

School board transportation officials administer and monitor transportation policies as authorized by their employers.

They generally determine the appropriate bus routes and act as liaison between the school board, parents, government, school bus companies, enforcement agencies, and the public. 

http://sbinfo.edu.gov.on.ca/brdfind.asp

Ontario Federation Of Home and School Association
http://www.ofhsa.on.ca/OFHSA means: AdvocacyAn independent voice of parents actively supporting public education at the school, school board and provincial level.An organization of volunteers committed to ensuring that the education, health, safety and social well-being of children and youth are a priority for all.SupportA network of members providing support, training, resources and advice developed over a long history of involvement since 1916.That the Ministry and Minister of Education shall establish qualification distances, beyond which student transportation shall be provided.Members recognize that there are also safety concerns that must be addressed by district school boards that may require the provision of busing for even shorter distances. These decisions are best left to local school boards to make.

Read recomondations for Bus Safety Regulations

http://www.ofhsa.on.ca/briefs%2004-05/May%208%20School%20Bus.pdf

Timmins OntarioJK and SK – all are bused but have to walk to a bus stop .3kmGrades 1-3 – for all students having to walk .8 km. or more to school to a bus stop .5kmGrades 4-8 – for all students having to walk 1.6 km. or more to school to a bus stop .5kmSecondary – for all students having to walk 2.6 km. or more to school to a bus stop 1.0k

News Release Eves government funds school bus efficiency, safety and accessibility Witmer completes implementation of Task Force’s immediate recommendationshttp://www.edu.gov.on.ca/eng/document/nr/02.12/nr1213.htmlThe $20 million will be allocated to school boards to:
support training all students on bus safety;
supplement wheelchair-accessible transportation;
enable boards to establish and run transportation partnerships to provide co-operative delivery of transportation services; and
help meet increased costs.”With this funding, we are acting to address immediate needs and improve safety and accessibility. We are also setting the stage for a new approach to funding student transportation as recommended by the Task Force,” Witmer said.”Our new approach will support co-operation between school boards, make the best use of resources and feature the use of up-to-date transportation management technologies. We all want our students to arrive at school safe and ready to learn. We will continue to work with school boards, bus operators and other education partners to ensure that a new approach to funding is focused on meeting students’ needs.”"I’m pleased that the government has identified some key areas of priority in student transportation. This $20 million in new funding will help make the student transportation system more efficient and will enhance safety,” said Rick Donaldson, Executive Director of the Ontario School Bus Association. “The Ontario School Bus Association looks forward to working with the government on the development of a new student transportation funding model.”

There is pleanty of news coming out of Timmins about the bears especially in our city.