Provincial government increases funding for school buses

After years of frustration from rural school districts, the provincial government has committed $14.7 million to make riding the school bus more affordable and accessible for students.

The funding is only available to schooldistricts that don't charge parents or which waive existing charges to parents whose children ride the bus to public schools in B.C.

"Students, they might live 10, 15, 20 miles awayfromthe school, and they may right now have a fee in some districts.Those fees for thosestudentsto get to school ... we will now be offsetting those," said Education Minister Mike Bernier.

Refund coming

School districts will still be able to charge for students at independent schools who ride on public school buses. According to Bernierparents that have prepaid for this school year'sbus service will get the money refunded.

Funding is distributed by school districts, with the most funding going to rural communities, including Cariboo-Chilcotin, Prince George and Central Okanagan.

The province will not dictate how the money is spent but has suggested it could be used for reduceride times, improving service and accessibility, along with waiving the additional fees parents pay in eightdistricts across the province now.

"For instance in very remote, rural areas, we havestudentswho ride the bus for a long time.They may use these fundsto enhance theroutesso students don't have to be on the bus for as long," said Bernier.

"They could also use these funds to maybe help students with disabilitiesget to school a little easier."

Rural communities in need

The province is giving school districts until Sept. 30 to submit a plan to the Ministry of Education in order to be eligible for funding. The deadline will allow districts to understand bus systemneeds for the 2016-17 school year.

Both the Peace River North and South school districts have been leading the charge for improved service and reduced fees for school buses, especially in more rural areas.

"We've been working on this issue for a long time and this is great news for parents. Transportation is vitally important in a rural area like ours, and we are excited to be able to eliminate fees for busing thanks to this money from the provincial government," said Ida Campbell, the chair of the Peace River North School Board,in a statement.