Frequently Asked Questions

Alberta Education, in its 2023 Budget, announced revisions to transportation eligibility criteria. 

Previously, transportation was provided for students living 2.4 kilometers or more from their assigned school. This threshold has now been adjusted to 1 kilometer for students in kindergarten through grade 6, and 2 kilometers for students in grades 7 to 12. 

School districts were given until September 2024 to apply these new standards. This modification is expected to significantly increase the daily number of buses in operation.

To facilitate this adjustment, Red Deer Catholic Regional Schools’ Transportation Department will be required to augment its fleet, as well as to recruit and train new drivers. 

Given the logistical complexities and the need for new routing, RDCRS maintained the 2.4-kilometer transportation criteria for the 2023/2024 academic year, with the aim to fully implement the new distances starting in the 2024/2025 academic year.

The Government of Alberta has made a number of changes to eligibility requirements for school bus transportation. Effective September 1, 2024, the eligibility distance for student transportation is being reduced to 1 kilometre for Grade 1 to 6 students and 2 kilometres for Grade 7 to 12 students, measured by using the shortest driving route.

A number of students who currently do not pay bus fees will be required to pay fees next year due to changes to provincial eligibility requirements. The students who will be impacted by this change include:

• Pre-Kindergarten - Grade 5 students who live less than 1 kilometer from their catchment school (busing to alternate address). These students will now pay an annual fee of $300.
• Grade 7 - 9 students who live less than two kilometers but greater than 1 km from their catchment school in the City of Red Deer. These students will now pay an annual fee of $300.
• Rural students attending an out of catchment school will now pay $300 per student.
• Grade 10 - 12 students who live less than two kilometers from their catchment schools in the City of Red Deer. These students will now pay an annual fee of $ TBA
• John Paul II Outreach Centre students who are out of catchment and travel to the school on transit. These students will now pay an annual fee of $ TBA.
• John Paul II Outreach Centre students who are out of catchment and travel to the school on rural bussing. These students will now pay an annual fee of $300.
• Students attending the Ball Academy. These students will now pay an annual fee of $300.
• Pre-Kindergarten community placement students. These students will now pay an annual fee of $300.
• Students who attend St. Patrick’s Community School as their school of choice, and live within the City of Red Deer. These students will now pay an annual fee of $300.
• Rural students who attend St. Patrick’s Community School as their school of choice, and are out of their catchment area. These students will now pay an annual fee of $300.
• Students who attend St. Martin de Porres School as their school of choice, and live within the City of Red Deer. These students will now pay an annual fee of $300. 
• Rural students who attend St. Martin de Porres School as their school of choice, and are out of their catchment area. These students will now pay an annual fee of $300.
• Students who attend an out-of-catchment rural school. These students will now pay an annual fee of $300.
• Students who attend an out-of-catchment school in the City of Red Deer. These students will now pay an annual fee of $TBA.

Registration will open online May 1st, 2024.  Please register prior to June 15th to avoid the late fee of $50 per student.  If registration is received after August 15th, 2024 service will be delayed until the week of September 16th, 2024. Click here to register.

When registering a child for busing, parents/guardians will need to register using their primary address that is within their school's catchment. If the parent/guardian requires the child to be dropped off at an alternate address (as described above), they will be able to add an alternate address into their bus registration. If the alternate address falls within catchment but does not fall into the child's pre-existing bus route, then a second bus would be needed on an alternate route and a $150 non refundable fee will be charged.

To ensure we are following the recommended changes, two bus stops are allowed per family within the school's catchment.

Should your child have special needs, please contact the Inclusive Learning Department to assess your child's busing requirements at 403-343-1055.

Please contact the Transportation office at 403-309-8801 and we will make our best effort to accommodate your request.

If your child is not at their designated urban stop at the scheduled departure time the bus will proceed, therefore it is not necessary to advise our office. Families that reside in rural areas may want to contact their Driver or call Transportation to notify them of the absence. 

If your child is no longer in need of bus service, please advise our office at 403-309-8801 or by email at transportationinfo@rdcrs.ca so we may update our records accordingly.

Please be aware that failing to notify transportation services of your child no longer requiring bus service may result in transportation fees. Holding a seat on the bus without notification impacts our planning and resources.

In the event, your bus is delayed for more than five minutes or canceled, it will be updated on the Bus Status App and your school's website. Please ensure that the app has been downloaded on your cell phone as transportation will not reach out directly to parents.

Your bus driver will contact you prior to the commencement of busing. If you need to get in contact with your driver, please call our office at 403-309-8801 and we will arrange for them to contact you directly.

For your child's safety, Division policy requires that drivers conduct a minimum of four bus evacuation drills per year. The Bus Status App will be updated to reflect if the bus is running late.

School buses arrive at a scheduled time and park in a designated location. Students disembark only when all buses have arrived and proceed to their next assigned bus. At transfer sites, the school bus drivers wear reflective vests and communicate with the other school bus drivers to safely direct students to their next transfer bus. All bus route numbers are clearly displayed at the front, and side of the bus. Buses do not leave transfer sites until all students have been loaded onto the school buses. For your child’s safety, we do not allow children to be picked up from the transfer site unless previous arrangements have been made with operations as we cannot validate guardianship of your child.

Students are released at the school when supervision is present to greet them. Some days due to traffic flow the school bus may arrive a few minutes early and students will remain on the bus until supervision is on the grounds.

When making address changes this requires two tasks. Please update the address at all schools of attendance for each child as well as re-register here for bus service at the new location.

If you have special requests or questions please email transportationinfo@rdcrs.ca at any time. Allow 3 -5 days for your request to be implemented.

You are considered an Out of District student and transportation may be accessed from an existing bus stop within the Red Deer Catholic Regional Schools boundaries. 

Transportation must be diligent in keeping ride times to a minimum and therefore cannot stop at each student’s house. The routing team takes into consideration the age of the children, the proximity of the stops, the accessibility of roadways, and any other safety concerns. To create efficiencies, walk distances are utilized in planning bus routes and stops.

For the safety of our passengers and due to the size of our school buses, we are unable to provide pick-up and drop-off services in crescents, cul-de-sacs, or closes. If you have a concern with a stop location, contact our Transportation Department.

The misuse of cell phones or other electronic devices on the school bus will not be tolerated as per Administrative Procedure 114.

(1) When luggage, equipment or tools are carried on a school bus they shall not be carried in the interior of the school bus.

(2) Notwithstanding subsection (1), where it is not practical to carry luggage, equipment or tools other than in the interior of the bus they may be carried in the interior of the school bus if they:
a. Are stored under the seats where possible.
b. Do not block the aisles or emergency exits, and
c. Are stored, lodged or secured in such a manner so that they cannot be dislodged or move about when the brakes of the school bus are applied, during the acceleration of the school bus or in the event of an accident involving the school bus.

(3) The person operating the school bus shall ensure that any luggage, equipment or tools carried on the school bus are transported in accordance with this section. AR 437/86 s16

This means that RDCRS Transportation is required to adhere to the regulations and policies regarding the safety and well-being of their students while riding on school buses. Tubas, french horns, guitars, saxophones, trombones, hockey sticks, hockey bags, skateboards, curling brooms, etc., are not allowed on the routed buses. Articles must be held on a student’s lap, not go into the aisle, above the seat or into another student’s space. As seats are 34” wide and there are often three students to a seat, the article should not be more than 13” x 13” x 23”.

A number of factors affect ride time, such as bus capacity, transfers and attending a school of choice. There is no maximum ride time.

Bus routes are designed by the results of student enrollment. It is not possible to have every student on last in the morning then off first in the afternoon, especially if the route is a mixed urban/rural route. It is deemed safer to drop students off as soon as possible as the bus leaves the school. It is not practical or efficient to drive past a number of students' homes to drop off the students at the end of the route first. Although it may only take parents ten - twenty minutes to take their child/ren directly to school, school buses are designed to serve several families and students therefore have numerous stops and turnarounds which also adds time to the route. The average ride time for a rural route in Alberta is 1.5 hrs. The safety of all those aboard is of the utmost importance so direction of travel and sight lines are also considered in the development of routes. The uncontrollable factors of road construction, detours and increased traffic flow may also affect the time ridden on a bus daily. If registrations for service decrease then routes ultimately are dissolved and stops are amalgamated with existing routes so that public funding is used efficiently.

We will strive to create more consolidated stops. Therefore, students’ walk times to their bus stops will increase. We will continue to examine the number of stops in order to ensure reasonable ride times. Express routes will be utilized to reduce ride times. As we focus on an efficient transportation system, bell times will be examined and adjusted Division-wide to support express routes.

When students are loading or unloading from the school bus, the alternately flashing lights and stop arm are activated to attempt to control traffic. It is illegal to pass a school bus when the RED lights are flashing. When activated, the overhead alternating RED lights mean only one thing: “stop this bus is loading or unloading children."

This regulation applies in the county and rural areas, as well as the following towns including Innisfail, Olds, Blackfalds, Sylvan Lake, and Rocky Mountain House.

In order to address efficiencies and keep ride times to a minimum, seats are assigned to each student. Students are also assigned to seats to address age-appropriate socialization and student management.

There is a bylaw in the City of Red Deer that does not allow the use of the 8-way lighting system. There are frequent opportunities for safe crossing at marked crosswalks and intersections. Students are educated to wait in their safety zone until the bus pulls away and only cross the street only at intersections when it is safe to do so.

As a general rule eating and drinking is not allowed on the school bus, however it is up to the driver's discretion. The driver takes into consideration the safe areas to stop in case of choking or allergic reactions.

Longer rural routes may allow for students to have a drink of water or small snacks. However, urban routes are shorter and eating and drinking is often discouraged. 

Chewing gum, suckers, or nuts are not allowed on the school bus.

• Valid Class 2 S driver’s license
• S Endorsement 
• Criminal Record check
• Emergency First–Aid with CPR
• Online safety training, such as Hour Zero and Public School Works
• Clean driver’s abstract
• Annual on-road evaluations (OREs)

Parents are encouraged to discuss any busing concerns with their driver. If this is not possible, please contact our office at 403-309-8801 or transportationinfo@rdcrs.ca and we will address your concerns.

Non-registered bus students will not be permitted access to transportation (for example, to join a friend at their house after school), and bus-registered students must ride their designated route and assigned bus stop only.