‘Courtesy seat’ requests discussed by bus service

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The company responsible for student busing in the area has responded to some questions regarding courtesy seats on area routes.

Kent Orr, the general manager for Chatham-Kent Lambton Administrative School Services, said student eligibility for student transportation is determined based upon the permanent residence of the student.

“So all students requesting service from a daycare location are not eligible for service and the request is classified as courtesy so all of the courtesy seat process parameters and criteria apply,” he said.

Orr said the bus routes are changed on occasion and ridership numbers are also checked.

“We transport in excess of 18,000 students daily during the school year throughout the district so bus routes do change regularly throughout the year; changes to routes are typically a result of eligible student population changes but they can also occur as a result of road construction, timing issues or other factors,” he said. “Ridership verification is conducted periodically throughout the year, with the majority of checks happening in late September – October once we are confident that the eligible student ridership has stabilized.”

Orr said the Student Transportation Services unit of their organization – Chatham Kent Lambton Administrative School Services (CLASS) is responsible for the provision of student transportation for both the Lambton-Kent and St. Clair Catholic District School Boards in accordance with their approved transportation policies.

“Home to School bus service and the associated fleet capacity is planned within the district for the Boards annually based on the students who meet eligibility requirements including attending their home school and residing outside of the established walk boundaries of 1.6km for Elementary students and 3.2km for Secondary students,” Orr said.

Orr added that students who are not eligible for transportation services based on these criteria do have the option through their website to apply for a courtesy seat on existing bus routes annually.

“There are specific criteria associated with courtesy seat approvals that are also outlined for applicants during the online application process,” he said.

Orr said more information regarding CLASS, student transportation and the courtesy seat application process can be found on our website: www.schoolbusinfo.com

The issue of courtesy seats for students going to Dresden Area Central School was brought up by some parents recently, who had some concerns.

Ginny Hawken, whose daughter will be attending Junior Kindergarten at DACS in September, said she was denied a courtesy seat for the address where her daycare provider is located.

Hawken said she is gathering names of parents in the community who are also having issues, and sending them to the MPP.

Here is the full story: Parents requesting some ‘courtesy’ with bus situation

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