Busing & Transportation

Eligibility​​​

Specialized transportation (small yellow school bus) is available to students who:

• Attend their designated school for their specialized program, system class, or unique setting, and
• Are assigned to specialized transportation as their mode; or
• Students with mobility challenges who have been assigned to specialized transportation
  

Many students from Grade 7 to 12 who are in specialized programs are designated to Calgary Transit

Payment in Lieu of Transportation

The Manager of Transportation and families can enter into an agreement for payment in lieu of specialized transportation. This means that families receive a daily rate based on distance travelled while their child is in the vehicle, to and from school. If families are interested, they can contact transportation@cbe.ab.ca.

Registration

Families register for specialized transportation using MyCBE, every school year. The deadline for registration for the 2023-24 school year was June 11, 2023​. Transportation continues to accept registrations after the deadline, and students are added to the closest existing stop with space, within the distance guideline. Processing times could be up to six weeks at the beginning of the school year due to volume.

Paper forms are also available on Forms You Need.

Alternate Address

Alternate addresses are accommodated on specialized transportation routes when the run has the time to accommodate the alternate address.

​Service Levels and Fees for 2023-24

Service Levels

Service levels vary based on the program a students attends, their grade level, the student’s individual abilities, and available modes of transportation.

Fees

Students assigned to specialized transportation (small yellow school bus) are not required to pay a fee.

Sibling Conditional Ridership

Sibling conditional ridership may be available to students who:

• are not designated to specialized transportation;
• have a sibling who utilizes specialized transportation; and
• attend the same school as the sibling

Sibling conditional ridership:

• is not guaranteed;
• must be applied for every year using MyCBE;
• must be approved by Transportation Services before the service is used;
• has an annual fee families must pay;
• is offered on a first come, first served basis;
• means student must access an existing stop; and
• is granted based on the above criteria; should routes change or if eligible students are added to a route and the bus becomes overcrowded, sibling conditional riders may be removed to accommodate these changes

Parents must have alternate transportation arrangements in place in case approval is not received before the start of the school year, in case the registration is not approved, and/or in case the sibling conditional rider status is removed. This is a set fee for the school year that is not adjusted based on actual usage​.

​Bus Routes and Stops

Bus route, stop location and stop time information are available through MyCBE to registered students who have been added to a route. The stop time provided is the time the bus leaves the stop. Please be ready at least five minutes before the scheduled departure time. Buses will not wait at or return to stops once they have left. Families of kindergarten students are asked to meet their child at the door of the bus to ensure their safety. Drivers only ensure kindergarten students and students who receive door-to-door specialized transportation are met by a parent or guardian. If you would like your child in Grade 1 and up, who do not receive door-to-door specialized transportation to be met by a parent or guardian at the door of the bus, please send an email to transportation@cbe.ab.ca , and a note will be added to the route. ​

Preparing for Riding the Bus

The bus stop time provided is the departure time. Have the student prepared for pick up five minutes before the scheduled departure time, ensuring that they:

• have been to the washroom;
• are wearing appropriate outdoor clothing (and harness if required); and
• are at the stop location outside
  

Please ensure sidewalks are clear so that the student can maneuver as needed.

After a bus has waited until the stop time at a curb to curb stop with no passenger present or contact made, the driver will continue on their route. Drivers will not be sent back once they have left the stop.

If the stop is a corner stop (up to 1 km from home) or general transportation, and there is no student at the bus stop for pick up, the bus will leave the stop at the departure time listed on the route. The bus will not wait past the departure time or return to the stop after they have left. We recommend families to be at the bus stop 5 minutes before the departure time.

Student Absence Notification

When families know their child will not use specialized transportation or taxi service for any period of time, they must notify the service provider as soon as possible. After a school bus stop has not been used for three weeks, it will be removed from the route. After three occurrences of an unreported student absence from taxi transportation, service will be suspended until contact is made with CBE Transportation. Please note, consistent unreported absences, specific to taxis, may result in the cancellation of the taxi.

Ride Times

In general, ride times are an hour or less each way. Due to the distance some students must travel to specialized programs, ride times may be longer in some cases.

Bus Route and Stop Changes

Bus routes are developed using pre-registrations received by the deadline. Bus routes and stops are subject to change throughout the school year and between school years. To request a change, parents/guardians can complete a Bus Stop Change Request Form available through MyCBE. As a reminder, families are responsible for student safety to, from, and at the bus stop. A bus stop change will not be considered based on the path students use to get to or from a bus stop, including any road crossings. Please note, drivers may not change a stop location. All requests must come through CBE Transportation.

Cancellations

Requests are completed through MyCBE. Cancellations must be received within 30 days of the last day service was used.​​

Service Delays

All service providers other then Southland and First Student will call families when there is a delay.

Please plan ahead for using transportation in cold weather.