First Rider Program All About Riding The School Bus Safely
It may have been a bit of a bumpy ride at the presentation and later on the streets of Moose Jaw but other than the glitches everything went smooth at the 2023 First Rider Program held on Thursday afternoon.
In its sixth year the program is touted a fun way to teach safety to children who have never road on a school bus before.
The program covered many of concerns, rules and how to ride the bus safely.
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Put on by both the Prairie South and Holy Trinity School Divisions the program featured not just representatives from the school divisions but also two members of the Moose Jaw Police Service - Constables Jayme Hoffman and Reggie Pawliw - as a Councillor Kim Robinson representing the City of Moose Jaw.
Todd Johnson transportation manager for Prairie South School Division - MJ Independent photo
“ I think it’s super important especially for parents and the kids,” Todd Johnson transportation manager for the Prairie South School Division told MJ Independent.
“For the parents this dispels some myths and for the kids the school bus is pretty huge so it’s a big vehicle and the kids get a chance to stand by, take a picture with it and touch it,” Johnson said.
He said the main emphasis was to help teach safety to new school bus riders in a more casual atmosphere other than learning the rules on the first bus ride to school.
“They get to learn how to sit safely in it. Some of the safety features of the bus and so I think for the kids and parents it’s fantastic.”
Asked about how the program helped drivers and students on the first day of school he said the program helped through its informal structure.
“I think any way you can teach safety that’s the best way. For the parents they get a chance to see what’s happening. And for the bus drivers they get to meet the kids and everyone gets to say hello so it’s not a scary thing,” Johnson said.
KARA STEVENS DRIVER SAFETY RELATIONS OFFICER FOR THE PRAIRIE SOUTH SCHOOL DIVISION SPEAKS TO THE YOUNG STUDENTS AND THEIR PARENTS - MJ INDEPENDENT PHOTO
During the presentation Kara Stevens driver safety relations officer for the Prairie South School Division spoke about a variety of safety rules and what it is like to ride the school bus.
Although the school divisions have the same safety rules - with both divisions sharing buses and routes to reduce duplication and costs - who gets to ride the bus in Moose Jaw differs.
Prairie South School Division students are bussed if they live outside of a one kilometre radius of school. Whereas Holy Trinity students are bussed if their home is more than a one kilometre walk from school.
“We are going to talk about rules and the way things run,” Stevens said in her presentation.
She said since the program’s inception six years ago the numbers participating has grown every year. Five years ago Holy Trinity School Division joined the program.
Through an agreement both divisions share bussing which means students from one division might ride on the other school division’s. The sharing and cooperation in bussing is more efficient and helps to reduce costs by ensuring busses are full and not half empty.
“In transportation safety is our number one priority. With that being said we really rely heavily on families to teach and enforce bus safety rules at home because that’s really where it starts.”
Stevens said that once a child gets on the bus they’re the responsibility of the bus driver, but at the same time bus drivers are responsible for driving the large buses.
“Their eyes need to be forward paying attention to going on around the bus and not necessarily inside the bus,” she said.
“So we really rely on you guys (parents) to teach the kids behave properly on the bus,” she said.
Stevens said the divisions would like to know about parental concerns and questions over the course of the school year, including kudos for bus drivers, and encouraged parents to phone in.
Two members of the Moose Jaw Police Service were on hand and went along for the bus ride. Here Constable Jayme Hoffman (right) sits alongside a student during the orientation bus ride - MJ Independent photo
She encouraged parents to sign up for the transportation portal because it had a lot of information as well as the ability to view the location of the bus in real time.
“If you’re waiting for the bus and it hasn’t showed up yet and you’re wondering if it’s late or you missed it you can just pull up. Where’s my bus and it will show you where exactly your bus is and how far it is away from your house.”
The portal also delivers first town email notifications if a bus route is cancelled.
She advised parents that when the temperature drops to 40 Celsius - with or without windchill - the buses do not run.
“So don’t send the little guys out to the bus stop when it’s really cold because the bus isn’t coming.”
The presentation moved to Stevens, talking to the young bus riders about what it’s like to ride the bus.
Following the presentation parents and students were given their first school bus rides where they were oriented to the rules for riding and getting on and off of the bus.
Johnson said the bus is also an opportunity for the kids “to do some fun things but of course to ride safely.”
He said the program helps to take away one less thing for the first time school bus riders to be anxious about.
PLEASE NOTE - To assist those parents and students who couldn’t attend any of the events we have included the video of the Thursday afternoon media presentation.
The video is just over 10 minutes in length.
We apologize for the mic being in the way for some of the video, but we were unaware that the event was not going to be held behind a static podium, so when the participants moved the mic sometimes obstructs the view.