Photo by Whitehorse Star
Education Minister Tracy-Anne McPhee
New buses to hit the road next month
The three new school buses the Yukon government has purchased will be in service for Jan. 4, 2021.
The three new school buses the Yukon government has purchased will be in service for Jan. 4, 2021.
The buses were bought last fall for approximately $300,000 to help alleviate strain on the school transportation system, particularly in light of the COVID-19 crisis.
The buses were intended to be in service by now, as they have been prepared to run for several weeks, according to officials from Standard Bus Lines, which operates the vehicles.
The hold-up, the company said, was the lack of scheduling from the Department Of Education.
This morning, Education Minister Tracy-Anne McPhee announced the deployment of the buses will come in the New Year, after the schools’ break for Christmas.
The new buses will be deployed primarily to adjust existing routes along the Hamilton Boulevard corridor to ferry students to Porter Creek.
They will allow student capacity to be increased from the current 1,900 seats to 2,250 seats, McPhee said.
Eligible families or students who are currently being bused and who will have alterations to their routes will be notified via email by Dec. 23, McPhee said.
“Minor adjustments, such as changes to pick-up and drop-off times, are being made to some routes,” the Yukon government stated in a media release.
“All families using the bus should check the school bus schedule webpage on Yukon.ca before returning to school in January for the most current routes and stop times. Families should continue to use the school bus stop closest to their home.”
One big change for students involves the need to wear a mask while riding the buses.
“To support additional ridership on school buses, the health and safety guidelines for school bus operations have been updated by Yukon’s Chief Medical Officer of Health. Starting January 4, all students age five years and older will be required to wear a non-medical mask while riding the school bus,” the release states.
The bus issue has been a contentious one for several weeks in the legislature.
The Yukon Party in particular has been vociferous in questioning the government as to when the buses would be put into service.
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Comments (6)
Up 7 Down 0
Dave on Dec 18, 2020 at 4:43 pm
@MO. Thanks for the clarification.
Up 6 Down 1
JC on Dec 18, 2020 at 3:33 pm
My Opinion: From one who knows quite a lot about this - from personal years of experience - you are right on both cases.
Up 13 Down 3
My Opinion on Dec 18, 2020 at 11:11 am
@Dave It is not the responsibility of the contractor. They signed a very specific contract that included the busses required.I'm sure they would have bought them if Government would have changed their contract accordingly.
@Yukoner92 The Biggest problem is all the divorces. Kids have a Home in Granger and a Home in PC. Also because they have 2 single parents they have two sets of Grandparents houses they end up at and leave from. It is a sign of our broken society. There is no way that a Bus system could deal with all that chaos.
Up 17 Down 10
Yukoner92 on Dec 17, 2020 at 10:47 pm
This irks me. People are so entitled here. These buses were purchased just to take kids who live OUTSIDE of their catchment zone. In other words, their parents knowingly put them in schools where bus service was NEVER guaranteed. They had service basically as a favour. But as is typical in Whitehorse they came to see this favour as a god given right. If you want guaranteed bus service, you should put your kids in the school closest to where you live.
This is just the Liberals giving in to a bunch of whiny parents and the whiny Yukon Party. I thought conservatives were supposed to be all about personal responsibility? I guess that went out the door when Currie Dixon took over. Maybe he is still too young to understand that concept.
Up 19 Down 0
Dave on Dec 17, 2020 at 3:53 pm
I don’t understand why YG purchased school buses. Isn’t it the responsibility of the company filling the contract to supply the buses and drivers? Did YG use tax dollars to buy buses the contractor will now turn around and presumably charge YG to use?
Up 22 Down 10
Wilf Carter on Dec 17, 2020 at 2:54 pm
This is a bit confusing. Why did liberal government not have buses ordered many months ago if there was a storage. Bad political planning don't you think Tracy? Where is the leadership here for the safety of our kids?