The Superintendent shall establish an efficient and effective student transportation system to provide for the transportation of students to and from their nearest catchment school. Support for active student travel is an important part of a comprehensive approach to student transportation. Student safety shall be the highest priority in the provision of student transportation by the district.

The transportation system shall be provided in accordance with the following Guiding Principles:

1. Routes, subject to being economically viable, will be established to ensure:
   1. Transportation to their regular program catchment school for those students living outside the following walk limits by traveled road or walkway from their regular program catchment school:
      1. Kindergarten – Grade 5 Students: 2.5 kilometres
      2. Students of Grades 6 – 12 inclusive: 4.8 kilometres
   2. Students entitled to transportation in paragraph 1.1 will not have to travel further than 2.5 kilometres by traveled road or walkway to the nearest bus stop.
   3. Travel times are optimized for students being transported to their regular program catchment school from outside the walk limits established in paragraph 1.1.
2. The district will endeavor to establish routes that serve as many students eligible for service under guiding principle 1 as possible. A minimum of 15 students eligible for transportation services under guiding principle 1 are required for a route to be considered economically viable.
3. Additional transportation may be considered if there are significant safety concerns, such as a major highway crossing, or in support of students with exceptional transportation needs.
4. The transportation routes shall be established to operate within the operating budget established by the Board. Bus routes shall be published in August of each school year.
5. Consideration shall be given to providing service when a student is directed to attend a school other than the nearest school in their catchment area.
6. Courtesy riders are district students not otherwise addressed in guiding principles 1 to 5, and may be transported if the legal seating capacity of the bus has not been reached. Seating priority is reserved for those students entitled to transportation by guiding principles 1 to 5. Courtesy riders attending District Programs (as defined in Administrative Procedure 560) will be prioritized over other courtesy riders.
7. As transportation routes are established to provide optimal service in accordance with paragraphs 1 to 5, transportation routes and bus stops will not be altered to enhance service for courtesy riders.
8. Active transportation will be promoted through a variety of means including, but not limited to:
   1. Working with local governments to address road safety concerns as well as identify opportunities to create active transportation routes to school;
   2. Providing communication to students, parents/guardians and the community on road safety issues; and
   3. Building student awareness on various active transportation options for arriving to school.
9. Riders will be charged a registration fee and an additional fee for late registrations. Late fees are intended to encourage timely registration and improve the effectiveness of route planning prior to school start-up. The establishment of fees and any required revisions will be approved by the Board.
10. The Superintendent will establish and keep current, safety procedures for the district’s transportation system and for the rental of commercial buses or vans for student transportation.
11. Passenger vans shall be limited to a maximum of 10 passengers.