Tri-Board regularly consults with our Member School Boards and local Public Health Units to prevent the spread of COVID-19 within our communities. These guidelines and requirements are subject to change. Changes that impact transportation are posted to triboard.ca/covid19
Cleaning and Protective Strategies:
Self-Screening & Isolation
All Drivers, Monitors, and students must self-screen every day and not board the bus if they are sick/ show symptoms consistent with COVID-19, based on the COVID-19 Self-Screening tool. Anyone who is feeling sick or has any symptoms of illness, including those not listed in this screening tool, should stay home until symptoms have improved for 24 hours (48 hours if gastrointestinal) and seek assessment from their health care provider if needed. Masks should be worn for 10 days after the onset of symptoms in all public settings, including the school bus.
Mask Requirements
Masks are recommended by the Chief Medical Officer of Health in all crowded indoor spaces.
Masks are optional for all Drivers, Monitors, and Students during transportation. The decision to wear a mask or not is a personal choice that must be respected by everyone. Buses will not have extra masks for riders.
Vehicle Cleaning Requirements
Yellow School Buses
At the end of morning runs, all seat tops, walls under windows, and the handrail will be treated with anti-viral spray.
At the end of afternoon runs, all seats (top, back, front), walls under windows, window and latches, metal partition next to the stairs, doors and handrail will be treated with anti-viral spray. Garbage will be collected from the floor.
Accessible School Buses
In addition to the protocol above, all hard surface equipment will be treated with anti-viral spray.
Mini-Vans
At the end of runs, all door panels (inside) and handles (inside and outside), seat belt latches and tongues, buckle buddies, hard surfaces of car seats and boosters, side windows will be treated with anti-viral spray.
Parents may use a non-scented wipe to clean any equipment their child will be using in the van before loading their child. This practice will not be completed at the school.
Assigned Seating Plans:
Seating plans do not need to account for cohorting and are no longer a part of the COVID-19 Health and Safety Response. Drivers may still enforce seating plans for student behaviour management.
Bus Passes/ Unauthorized Riders
School buses only transport students that are assigned to the bus route according to our database. Schools can request one-off transportation for a student to ride with a registered student (i.e., to work on a class project after school or to sleep over at a friend’s house, etc.) for one day up to one week, through BusPlanner Web. Requests for transportation over one week must be formally applied for and no additional stops can be created through the bus pass process. Bus passes will be denied if there is not space on the bus to accommodate an additional rider.
Opt-Out of Transportation:
We understand every family has a different comfort level when it comes to the COVID-19 Pandemic. Fill out this form if you do not intend to use the school bus and have previously registered. If you require transportation in the future, you will have to reapply.
