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, 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 2024-25 school year is June 16, 2024. 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 2024-25
Service Levels
2024-25 transportation service levels and fees are now available. Service levels vary based on the program a student attends, their grade level, the student’s individual abilities, and available modes of transportation.
|
Service Level |
Details
|
|
Curb-to-Curb,
Specialized Transportation
|
A bus stop is located as close to the home as possible.
|
|
Corner Stop,
Specialized Transportation
|
A bus stop is located within 1 km of the home address.
|
|
General Transportation
|
A bus stop is located within 1.6 km for elementary schools and 1.8 km for middle and junior high schools.
|
|
Calgary Transit
|
A trip plan exists that is around an hour and no more than one bus transfer.
|
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.
Grade
|
Fee
|
1-9
|
$260
|
Kindergarten
|
$130 (1-way)
|
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 does 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.
Bus Stop Directions
Bus stop information, including directions to and from the bus stop is
not provided by email. To plan your travel route from your home to the bus stop, you can use a free software (e.g. Google Maps) for assistance. Simply copy the bus stop location from
MyCBE into the search bar as a starting point. The bus stop information is given as follows:
- Northbound/Eastbound/Southbound/Westbound = Direction the bus will be travelling
- Street Name (1st) = The street the bus stop will be located on
- Before/After = Whether the stop is before or after the cross street
- Street Name (2nd) = The cross street the bus stop will be located before or after
- NW/NE/SE/SW = The quadrant of the city the bus stop is located
- Landmark = A landmark that provides a visible location to identify the bus stop
Example
As a sample bus stop location of "Eastbound Main Street after Main Avenue NE at the CT Stop", the bus stop would be located:
- On the south side of Main Street (since the bus would be travelling eastbound)
- After Main Avenue NE
- At a CT (Calgary Transit) Stop
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.
If 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 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 the 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
The service providers (transportation companies) own and update the bus status apps. Contact them with questions if you are unable to add a route, unable to track the bus, etc. The contact numbers for each provider can be found on this webpage.
Please plan ahead for
using transportation in cold weather.
