Ottawa School Bus Transportation Authority (OSTA) update:
Monday, June 17th, 2024
PARENT/GUARDIAN MESSAGES
Are you Moving or Changing Daycare Providers?
Information accuracy affects OSTA’s planning. Any changes to your home or alternate
addresses must be provided to your school. It is critical that parents and guardians provide
their school with any changes to home/alternate addresses AS SOON AS POSSIBLE to
avoid extended waiting for a transportation change in the fall.
Joint Custody and Transportation to Two Homes – Renewals
Important Deadline – Joint Custody renewals must be done every year. The renewal form
for existing variable transportation arrangements (Joint Custody) is available online.
Renewal Joint Custody Forms must be submitted NO LATER THAN June 30 by at least one
parent/guardian.
Empty Seats/Courtesy Seating for the 2024-25 School Year
Over the past few years, we have experienced significant disruption to our transportation
services due to the driver shortage. Though we are cautiously optimistic that this coming
fall's service will roll out smoothly due to our proactive measures, it is difficult to predict
driver status. It is not uncommon for drivers to not return after the summer break or to
resign early in the school year. As our first priority is to provide reliable transportation to
eligible students, the Empty Seats/Courtesy program will NOT be reinstated in September.
We will re-evaluate this decision later in the fall when we have better visibility on the status
of our services.
OSTA Parent Web Portal Closed
OSTA’s Parent Web Portal (Bus Stop Finder) will be closed from the end of June until mid-
August. The portal will reopen with next year’s transportation information. Please regularly
check OSTA’s website and social media pages for important transportation announcements,
deadlines, and other vital information.
Not Using the Bus Next Year? Let OSTA Know by Declining Transportation
Are you eligible for transportation but not using it next year? Decline today. Keeping OSTA
informed is important as it allows us to better use available transportation services for those
who need them. For more information, visit OSTA’s website.
School Zone Safety and Walk-A-Block
Help make your school zone safer. Reduce congestion around your school site by parking
away from it and using #Walk-a-Block instead. Find your school map here.
School Bus and Pedestrian Safety Day
Learn all about school bus and pedestrian safety at OSTA’s safety day event on Sunday,
Aug. 25, from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Children can ride a real bus and participate in pedestrian
safety training with the Ottawa Safety Council. For more information and to register, visit
OSTA’s website. OSTA also provides extensive resources on its website, including several
age-appropriate bus safety videos, which are easily accessible to parents/guardians.
Parents/guardians are encouraged to visit the website with their child(ren) prior to the start
of the new school year.
Take the Wheel and Drive Yellow Today
Looking for a satisfying part-time job that fits your work-life balance? Take the wheel and
drive yellow. Yellow school bus drivers are impactful workers who are highly valued by our
communities for getting kids safely to school. Visit driveyellow.ca for more information on
becoming a school bus driver.
Recognizing our Dedicated School Bus Drivers
As we look back on the challenges of the past school year, the shortage of school bus
drivers stands out as a significant issue that affected many families, causing disruptions in
transportation services. While efforts to recruit new drivers are ongoing, it's essential to
recognize that retaining our current drivers is equally crucial in addressing this shortage.
Let's set an example for our children by teaching them to show respect and gratitude
towards these essential workers. Recognizing the contributions of school bus drivers not
only fosters empathy and kindness but also nurtures a culture of appreciation within our
school community. Together, as parents, schools and students, we can create a supportive
and respectful environment that honours the invaluable role of our school bus drivers. By
collectively acknowledging and respecting these dedicated professionals, we can ensure our
children's continued safety and well-being during their daily commute.
BusPlanner Web Account
Are you seeking information about your child’s bus stop location and pick up/drop off time?
Once you have created a subscriber account in BusPlanner Web you can add your child.
Simply input their OEN (Ontario Education Number) along with their birthdate, grade, and
the school they attend, and you will have access to all of your child’s transportation
information.
The OEN can be found on your child’s report card or by contacting your child’s
school.
OSTA Rebrand
OSTA is thrilled to announce the launch of its revamped brand identity and new website this
summer. This transformation signifies a new beginning for OSTA, highlighting our dedication
to leadership, modernization, inclusiveness, and community engagement. We aim to
showcase our commitment to being a dependable and caring transportation provider. Our
new website is modern, accessible, and user-friendly, ensuring seamless navigation for all
users. It offers clear information about our services, policies, and updates. Stay tuned!
Summer Communication
As a commitment to transparency, OSTA will continue to provide bus driver status updates
throughout the summer as it gears up for another school year. OSTA is dedicated to
providing students with a safe way to travel to and from school while giving
parents/guardians the peace of mind they deserve.
Updates will be available on the OSTA
website.
______________________________________
APRIL 19th, 2024
Important Deadline! NEW Joint Custody applications are due June 1st.
Each address must meet eligibility requirements to apply.
For Joint Custody RENEWALS, the deadline is June 30th. Remember, Joint Custody renewals must be done every year. Our convenient fillable renewal form is to be completed by one parent, providing there are no changes to the existing schedule.
Find out more about Variable Transportation to two homes here: https://bit.ly/3pzkO2J
Jan 23rd, 2024 REMINDER FROM OSTA:
OSTA is reminding parents that junior and senior kindergarten students must be met in person when the school bus or van arrives at their stop.
Drivers will not allow KG students out of the vehicle if a parent, guardian or responsible person is not there to greet them.
Failure to comply may result in the suspension or termination of transportation privileges. This is not only a safety issue but can also cause unnecessary delays.
It is also extremely important to keep the yellow KG tag on your child(ren)’s backpack, as that quickly alerts the bus driver that the child must be met at the stop. If your child no longer has the yellow KG tag, please request another one from your school.
For more information
click here.
In order of priority, the bus stop reminder can go out before the survey. Thank you!
UPDATE; As of OCTOBER 10th ALL BUSES ARE RUNNING AT A.LORNE CASSIDY ELEMENTARY SCHOOL. We thank OSTA for all their hard work and Efforts.
Please sign up for your new bus route notifications on the
OSTA website, check back on a regular basis as they try to work hard when a bus is cancelled on a morning and it could be reinstated quickly.
PLEASE see the list on
OSTA for regular daily updates.
If your children are under 10, you need to communicate who will be picking them up when your bus is cancelled. The person picking up MUST be on your emergency contact list with us at school.
KINDER: If you have a kindergarten and additional people meeting at the drop off location for your child with the bus, you must email a letter to
[email protected] and provide all the peoples names and phone numbers that could be meeting your children at the bus at end of day. This will then be shared with OSTA and your driver, if we do not have a list then you the parents are responsible to be at that stop.
IF your children (Grades 4 and under) are NOT going to be on the bus, maybe because you decided to pick them up- YOU MUST send an email to the office at
[email protected] and copy their teachers. If we do not receive this info, we will send your child ON the bus regardless of what the little people tell us.
Here are our Bus Assignments for this 2023-2024 year.
2023-2024 Transportation List/Bus Routes
UPDATED BUSES WITH NEW COLORS, Please make sure your children KNOW which BUS and COLOR they are in this year.
Routes to Colors are not the same as last year!
The routes have been changed dramatically.
V110 am Red Cherry
V72 pm Red Cherry
V118 am Grey Dolphin
V112 pm Grey Dolphin
V01 am White Cloud
V80 pm White Cloud
V27 am Blue Whale
V22 pm Blue Whale
V65 am/pm Yellow Sun
V67 am/pm Orange Pumpkin
V69 am/pm Purple Flower
V108 am/pm Green Tree
C01 am/pm Black Cat
C149 am/pm Brown Bear
Subscribe to Receive Email
Subscribe to our mailing list to receive notifications of transportation cancellations right to your handheld device or personal computer. Sign up with your email address, and unsubscribe at any time.