SASKATOON -- With school set to resume in the province in just a few weeks, there is concern about whether enough is being done to ensure safety on school buses during the pandemic.
One parent, Kala Young, said her children will be going back to school this fall, and while they would normally take the bus, she said the idea of that this year doesn’t sit well with her.
“It’s just not worth the hassle,” she told CTV News.
Young plans to make other arrangements to get her four children to school to avoid worrying about the spread of COVID-19 on packed buses. Buses could potentially seat 70 kids.
Another parent, Michelle Hunt, doesn’t like the idea of having her daughter, Claira, in a confined space for 40 minutes a day.
“My concern was that children won’t have enough social distancing on the bus,” Hunt said.
Jeff Haines, a spokesperson for Hertz Northern Bus Lines – one of the companies that serves Saskatoon – said they will follow the provincial guidelines for sanitation and PPE.
He couldn’t offer any other details as they are subcontracted by the school boards.
A retired school bus driver from the North Battleford area who did not want to be identified said she has many concerns about busing students in a few weeks.
She said on her route, she has to take students to three different schools and they’re packed, usually three to a seat.
She also said there isn’t enough time to sanitize properly between pickups, especially when there are double loop pickups, which means two different sets of students take one bus during the morning or afternoon shifts.
The Saskatoon Public Schools Board and Greater Saskatoon Catholic Schools Board both have information on their websites about transportation and busing but neither go into a lot of detail about the double loop runs.
They both encourage parents to transport their own children where possible or have them take alternate transportation like walk or ride a bike.
The school boards also say students will be assigned seats in household groups.
As far as cleaning buses, the public school board website says buses will be cleaned between each run by the bus company while the Catholic school board only says sanitation protocols will be in place.
In an email, the Greater Saskatoon Catholic Schools Board said it plans to update information on double loop buses in the coming days.
The parents who spoke with CTV News said while making alternative arrangements will take some juggling, they want to avoid having their kids on the buses.
“That will probably be my plan this year will be to try to drive her as much as possible and try to work that into my own work schedule,” Hunt said.
