MOOSE JAW — Prairie South School Division transported nearly 3,000 students during the 2023-24 school year, with roughly five per cent being on the bus longer than 75 minutes in the mornings, a new report shows.
Division administration presented the 2023-24 transportation accountability report during the February board meeting, with the document providing data about Prairie South’s transportation activities.
The division transported 2,847 students on 106 routes in 19 communities last year, with all the buses travelling 18,214 daily, the report said. Of those students, 1,883 were rural and 964 were urban.
The average ride time for the former was 35 minutes, while the average ride time for the latter was 13 minutes, the document continued. The data shows that these times have been relatively consistent during the past five years.
The report noted that the longest morning ride time was for students at Lindale School, at 107 minutes, a number that has increased from 83 minutes in 2019-20. However, the average ride time to that school was 52 minutes.
Meanwhile, division-wide in the morning, 922 students were on the bus for less than 15 minutes, 644 youths were on the bus for 16 to 30 minutes, 368 kids rode the bus for 31 to 45 minutes, 357 youths were on the bus for 46 to 60 minutes, 230 students rode the bus for 61 to 75 minutes and 146 kids — or about five per cent — rode for longer than 75 minutes.
Todd Johnson, manager of transportation, told trustees that the ride times at Lindale School were “noticeable,” but pointed out that that bus drops off kids at three other schools — two with Holy Trinity and one with PSSD — when it comes into Moose Jaw before finishing at Lindale.
Routes
Lindale School had the greatest number of bus routes for a rural school, with 21, while Assiniboia had the second-most with 10, the report said. Meanwhile, there were 27 total routes in Moose Jaw, although staggered school start times allowed the department to accommodate double routes, where one driver provides service to two schools with separate pick-ups and drop-offs; 14 drivers do double routes.
Charter trips
The division received 1,798 charter requests during the 2023-24 school year, with 1,565 curriculum-based and 233 sport-related, while 144 were cancelled for various reasons, including Saskatchewan Teachers’ Federation sanctions, the report said. In comparison, there were 1,758 total trips in 2022-23, 1,301 trips in 2021-22, 18 trips in 2020-21 and 958 trips in 2019-20.
The report noted that Prairie South resumed charter trips in September 2021 after the province lifted pandemic restrictions.
“I love showing the charters (as) the students are getting out and learning, and the numbers are increasing again, which is fantastic for us and for the students,” said Johnson.
Expenses
Prairie South spent $7,478,763 on bus maintenance expenses last year, which was similar to the year before, the report said.
Furthermore, the division spent $1,816,731 to purchase 10 buses, which was $498,116 more than the year before and $541,477 more than in 2019-20; the goal is to buy 10 new vehicles annually.
Of those buses, seven were 72-passenger vehicles and three were 54-passenger vehicles.
Vehicle accidents
There were 21 vehicle accidents in 2023-24 that cost the division $5,469.12, while 12 incidents were “minimal to no damage” and were not reported to SGI, the report said. Mechanics repaired the vehicles during regular maintenance, although one bus was a total loss.
The next PSSD board meeting is Tuesday, March 4.
