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Overcrowded School Bus an Issue with Parents

Pipestone Flyer

 

Since the start of the school year parents living in the Southfork subdivision have become increasingly concerned with at least one school bus being overcrowded. Reports of four or five students to a seat and even times when students are asked to stand in the middle of the aisle has been a too often request by the driver of the bus.

 

The population of Southfork subdivision has seen one of the quickest growths in Leduc and may have caught both the school divisions and their bus contractors by surprise, but most parents feel that by December either a bigger bus or a second bus being assigned to the subdivision should have corrected this problem. 

 

One parent, Dallas Varoney, reported on the Southfork Residents Association Facebook site on Monday Dec 17th: “my kids said that today there was a kid standing in the isle and the bus driver did nothing about it. They also confirmed the fact that last week the bus was so loaded there were up to 5 kids per seat, many on the seats had to stand and there were kids as young as kindergarteners standing in the isles to get to school. This is very upsetting.”

Black Gold Transportation Manager Sue Timmermans reported to a parent that the bus contractor has been informed that the current situation is illegal and the bus driver was not following the guidelines as outlined by the division’s bus driver handbook.

 

At least one parent has reported the incidents to Transport Canada and it is being forwarded to the vehicle inspection division of Alberta Transportation.

 

Parents are hopeful this issue will be resolved quickly and before a serious incident occurs.