Petition for Fair and Safe Bus Transportation for Rural Area Students

We, the undersigned parents, guardians, and community members, are asking Grande Yellowhead Public School Division to review the current school bus routes serving the Ruel area and the Town of Edson.

Four bus runs have been removed from our area, resulting in remaining routes being combined and buses becoming extremely crowded.

Rural students in the Ruel area are being picked up much earlier in the morning in order for the same buses to accommodate additional students within town. This means rural children are spending significantly more time on the bus and beginning their school day much earlier than necessary.

For many of these students, the combination of an extremely early pickup, a full school day, and a lengthy bus ride home means they are away from home for a longer day than a typical adult workday. We believe this is unreasonable, particularly for young children who need adequate sleep, downtime, and time with their families.

Families are also concerned about how crowded some of the buses have become following the removal of these routes. Parents are questioning whether students can continue to be transported in a safe and reasonable manner when buses are filled to this extent.

We are requesting that the Division provide two dedicated bus routes for town students, or make other route changes that reduce overcrowding and prevent rural students from having excessively early pickup times.

We respectfully ask Grande Yellowhead Public School Division to:

Review the impact of removing four bus runs from our area.
Review current bus capacity, seating, and student loads to ensure students are being transported safely.
Review the pickup times and total daily travel times for Ruel-area students.
Provide two dedicated bus routes for town students, or another solution that reduces overcrowding and excessive ride times.
Ensure rural students are not being picked up unnecessarily early simply to accommodate additional town pickups.
Consider the overall length of a child’s day when establishing transportation routes, particularly for younger students.
Provide affected families with information about how routes are being determined and what steps will be taken to address these concerns.
This petition is not about rural students versus town students. It is about creating a transportation system that is safe, fair, and reasonable for every child.

Our children should not routinely have longer days simply because of where they live or because bus routes have been eliminated.

We respectfully ask Grande Yellowhead Public School Division and the Board of Trustees to review these concerns and work with affected families toward a better solution.