St. Albert schools have deployed new computers this fall that will let parents track school buses in real time.
Thousands of St. Albert students are set to head back to school Sept. 2. About 4,200 of them will take yellow school buses to get there.
Drivers with Cunningham Transport have been practising their routes and studying passenger lists in recent weeks in preparation for September, said general manager Laura Doroshenko. They’ve also been training with new tablet computers that display route maps, direct lost students to their correct bus, and let parents track a bus’s position in real time through an app.
That real-time tracking gives parents up-to-the-minute reports on whether or not a bus is on time, which should mean less time spent shivering at the bus stop, said Lauri-Ann Turnbull, transportation manager for Greater St. Albert Catholic. She emphasized that parents should still get their children to the bus stop at least five minutes before the scheduled pickup time, even if the app says the bus will be late, as drivers can catch up very quickly.
St. Albert Public students brushed up on their bus safety Aug. 27 at the district’s annual First Rider’s Night, where students learned about the rules of the bus and went on a trial bus ride.
Turnbull said GSACRD students will learn the basics of bus safety through in-class talks in the coming weeks. Those basics include not eating or drinking on the bus and staying back from the curb when waiting for the bus.
Safe journeys to school
In an email, St. Albert RCMP Cst. MJ Burroughs reminded drivers to watch out for kids on the road in the coming weeks.
“Now is not the time to be complacent. Children can be unpredictable near roadways and intersections, especially when entering or exiting a school bus or crossing the road.”
Burroughs said drivers should obey school zones speed limits (which are back in force as of September) and slow down near crosswalks and intersections near schools and playgrounds. They should obey crossing guards, yield to pedestrians at all crosswalks, and avoid passing cars stopped at crosswalks (as they may be yielding to someone you can’t see).
Pedestrians, meanwhile, should look both ways and put away their smartphones and headphones before crossing the street, she said. They should make eye contact with drivers to ensure they are seen and stick to designated crosswalks.
Doroshenko asked parents not to park in bus lanes, as doing so can create traffic jams and dangerous conditions for children. Drivers should also slow down when passing a bus in St. Albert in case a student runs out in front of it.
Bus drivers will use flashing red lights and a swing-out stop sign to signal when they’re dropping off or picking up kids in Sturgeon County and on specific rural roads in St. Albert. It is illegal in Alberta to pass a bus when these signals are active; doing so can net you a $567 fine and six demerits. Drivers who see a bus with these signals on should stop at least 20 metres away from it when approaching or following it.
Visit www.spschools.org/division-operations/transportation/first-riders-night for more bus safety tips.
