I have written to you a number of times about the school bussing issue for rural route children. This is not for me cause I will drive the kids but there are other children down the road and their parents have to work early and they are unable to provide a ride to the highway. I am told that I need a reply in writing that you must explain to me why this hasn’t changed yet. I have letters from the premier of Ontario Dalton McGuinty and the transportation minister, they have told me that this must be changed through the local school board and trustees.

Also The Premier has stated in his letter that He knows that I have written alot of people because I have tried localy ..
I also have a letter from the Ministry of Transportation Safety Policy and Education Branch in Toronto, The letter states that Local school boards are responsible for setting student trasportaion policies, including

safety provisions

and he would encourage me to continue to discuss my concerns with the local District School Boards and the school Principals. Dispite the safety issues we have all stated, there has been no change Really provisions must be made for Dorans Road.

Gilles Bisson has also called and will be working to help me. One of his staff told me Everyone on Claim Post road gets picked up at the end of their driveway and its a culdisac, houses are right beside each other but the bus still stops at every home because of the bears. and it seems that they are told that there has NEVER been a bus that went down Dorans Road for any of the Children..

Safty provisions from other roads have been made. On Government road in South Porcupine, two children had to walk .3km to Julie street and the parents complain and now there is a bus sent to the childrens home and they now get picked up at the end of their driveway..
They moved there this summer (2005)and only live 1KM from town and I have been trying to change this for Dorans Road for 5 years.. We live 7 km from the city and no provisions for the country. WOW anyone going to investigate that. Why is this not equal for all children on rural routes. I have followed many busses and Dorans road is the only road that children are made to WALK dispite my many letters and phone calls with saftey issues.

You can call Joeanne at BMI Equiptment South Porcupine…Provisions for some and not others. all it takes is a phone call to change things for safety issues while the Children of DORANS ROAD have to walk and put in unsafe situations. There are some bus drivers who refuse to drop children off in unsafe situations and drive the children to their driveway anyway and some small children to their doorway. I have talked to the parents and have promised not to send in their addresses because they have asked me please don’t raise an issue because their children will have to start walking. I Haven’t posted those addresses because the parents are right their children will have to walk like Dorans Road ….. And I don’t want to make other families suffer because of what I am trying to do for the children of Dorans Road.

I am sure with futher research there are others that get picked up at the end of there driveways but not for Dorans Road..

I have talked to Toronto, Sudbury, Northbay and they all think my concerns are validated, and are told to deal with it locally, I have to deal with it locally and not one letter was ever written back to me to explain why. I need these letters to forward to the appropriate people.

Rural Route CHildren in The Timmins Ontario Area that have to walk up to a mile to catch their school bus while some of the chilren get picked up at the end of their driveways and others have to walk to anothers childs driveway..

Children with food in their packsack have to wait on dark bush roads at 7 -7:30am in the morning and wait 10 to 15 minutes or more for the bus (because it’s never at the same time each day), and then again at night walk up to a mile home alone in the bush. (Children that live in the City don’t have to leave home till 8:30am or so). These buses can have 50 passengers but only carry 10 or less each day. Children ages 4 to 16 have to walk and wait for the bus in the dark every morning. (we drive our children and wait at the highway because nothing like the parent getting mauled to death and the children having to watch and run for their lives while watching daddy getting killed.) Because we are told WALK WITH THEM! I believe that if something where to happen to one of the children of Dorans Road this would be covered up and the blame would be put on the bus driver.

Everyone I have talked to here in Timmins can’t understand why this hasn’t changed yet. Ontario School Bus Association policies says it should be changed and local provisions should be made for the safety of all children.

Also I have been told by a Nurse from the Timmins District hospital that the lady from the states that was mauled to death by a bear was on her monthlies and she was tracked for miles..

Its like running into a Brick Wall Over and Over Again!

Really there must be someone out there that has a heart for the children..

You might be just one person in the world
but to just one person you might just be their world!

And all it would take is to make some safety provisions for the children of all rural route roads
And yes this is discussed with the children on a daily basis they feel that I am doing the right thing for their sake. I’ll continue to drive my children.

Bus Transportation for Rural Route Children

I am writing this letter to voice my concerns about our Northern Ontario School Bus Transportation for Rural Route children, I am trying to get the Rural Route bus stops changed for those children who have to walk up to a mile in the bush to catch the bus. I live in Timmins Ontario and I am concerned about the children that have to walk a fare distance to wait for the bus..
In the country the children have to walk .03 km for 4 and 5 year olds. and children from 6 to 12 have to walk .5k to their bus stop and High school age have to walk 1km to a bus stop. That is unacceptable considering all the bears lately roaming around in our town.
There are lots of concerns from other parents or caregivers that live in the country and their children that have to walk a distance to catch a school bus. Walking any distance in the country is way to dangerous for our precious children.

My 13 year old who was always picked up at the end of our driveway before and now has to walk .5K to his new bus stop. That is down our road and then down the highway by himself. some one came here and drove .5k to make him walk to the end of someone elses driveway way down the highway and he is the only child on this bus route that is Forced to walk, every other child is picked up at the end of their driveway. Meanwhile the bus passes right by Dorans Road.

Why doesn’t the child from 645 Laforest walk to Laforest and Dorans Road. It’s at cross roads. I can’t understand why a child from Dorans Road Has to walk further down the highway to catch the bus. .5km for my sons age and then picked his bus stop.

and A grade nine student lives 1.1KM from the highway and still has to walk dispite his Parents calling and complaining..

Why has the bus stop changed to .5k, but when my other son was was 13 and 14 was always picked up at the end of our driveway and on a small bus going to the same school.
Walking with them defeats the problem. Not letting them walk at all down any road is what should be more concerning. There are other buses that come down our road and turn around with no problem. Mind you the Bus drivers would like to come down and pick them up but they were told that if they did they can’t. They think that they will be to blame if something terrible would happen to one of the children.
What does that say some must walk and some get picked up at the end of their driveways. If there must be a bus stop then it should be on a road crossing. Aren’t most bus stops at the corner of roads and not the middle of the highway and by the way the other children that live at that bus stop get to be picked up at the end of their driveway. Their driveway is the bus stop. There are other children, that have talked to, have to walk 1 km to catch their bus if they happen to be the last person living down the road then they have to walk to the persons home that is before them and I have driven down that road and that is a far walk and all bush. My neighbour has told me she has seen the bear at night on our road near our home. She drives her children to school everyday since she has lived here. 1996. We are in an area that we can’t see other homes, so our neighbour always call to warn us, we don’t let the kids play outside without supervision. The bear has walked by our patio doors and they’re in the front yard and we are all outside in the back yard. We have now put up a fence so at least it would give us a chance to get in.. But we are expected to send our precious children down the road to catch a bus. Highschool children have to walk over 1 km to a bus stop in the country The older the child the farther to walk..

We live in a area where you cannot see the highway or the bus stop. Bears have been in town. children in town have to walk these distances but there are pleanty of people that see them on their way to school. If there was a bear at least there are pleanty of homes to run to and someone will see or here their calls for help ( It happens all the time in Timmins and the police are called right away http://www.truenorthnews.com/)

I am sure that the government will change all rulal route buses for children to be picked up at the end of their driveways; exept those who live in an area that has a cluster of homes. We must make sure that our children get on the bus safely and we can only do that if we can see the bus. I know when I was young they sent one bus to pick up all children of different schools and it was at the end of our driveways the bus went down to pick up the child that lived farthest down the road and they didn’t have to walk a mile to the bus stop. What if a child is mauled or killed by a bear or even worse picked up by a child preditor, grooming a child and getting to know them by driving by on a daily basis could happen to any child and most child preditors do this. And I am told to bring them to the bus stop and meanwhile if something were to happen the children have to witness their mommie or daddy getting mauled by a bear while debating whether to help or run.

What chance does my son or any other child have, no cell phone, no homes around, no one to help him, no one to hear his screams and if your not at the bus stop then it is presumed that you’re not catching it that day and by the time the school calles to ask why your child is not at school its too late and too much time has gone by.

IF you can’t see your child get on the bus then the bus stop is too far. Kids carry food in their packsacks, sandwiches, snacks and drinks. BIG SAFTEY ISSUE , They have to wait 10 or 15 minutes before the bus come cause if they aren’t down the road then they just drive on by.. I believe that this issue is not a funding issue because my sons bus has enough seats to carry 50 or more children but when I wait for it it has 3 children on it.

I am trying to STOP a would be, could be tragic event. Why is it that someone has to die before someone in authority changes rules and regulations, and don’t try to tell me this is a Funding issue is obvious to how to save money by sending smaller busses. For the rights and welfare of our young children
Please I am counting on you and others to help my cause. I have tried and tried to get someone to just open their eyes and agree that there could be a problem since the spring bear hunt was cancelled. But as you can see some children get picked up at the end of their driveways and some have to walk a km.. I have been cutting my trees down so we can see further down the road and put up fences so we can see the bear coming and have time to get in.

Sept 27, 2005

I went to the highway to talk to the bus drivers and one dropped off an 11 year old child and she told me that she doesn’t like this situation. 50 passenger bus carrying less than 10 children.

Now my son bus driver is told the same thing and she doesn’t like the situation but all other of her kids get dropped off at the end of there driveway. and on a 50 passenger bus with less than 10 children on it.
I have talked to other bus drivers that can’t believe what they have to do. and how they are told to do it. and can’t believe that children have to walk any distance with the bears and the big long busses they have to drive with hardly any children on it.
Also It is mandated by the government that no child shall ride the bus for more than one hour whether to school or from school..

Five CHildren from Dorans Road Have to walk to Laforest Highway or further down the highway and two others that would have to walk but their parents drive them to school everyday…

Three highschool (OGorman Highschool)children catch bus 615 at the corner of Laforest and Dorans Road at 7:30 am in the morning. One child walks .4km and the other .3km and the other is 1.1km and then picks up all the other children on the bus at the end of each childs driveway and even down 2 other dead end roads.. NO OTHER CHILD ON THAT BUS WALKS. This bus goes down Laforest down to Airport highway and then down Kraft Creek Road then more than an hour later gets to school.Bus can hold up to 72students but only a few children on that bus daily.

Another child who is 11, she walks .4 km to the corner of Laforest and Dorans Road at 8am Bus 86 and goes down Laforest and NO OTHER CHILD ON HER BUS WALKS Bus can hold up to 72 students but only a had full of children on that bus daily.

Another child who is 13 (OGorman Intermediate) has to walk .5k to the corner of Laforest and down the Highway to 645 Laforest to the end of another childs driveway Bus 522 NO OTHER CHILD ON THAT BUS WALKS.Bus can hold up to 72 students but only 10 children on that bus daily. The bus passes Dorans Road first then 5 houses down the highway. to his bus stop. That should have never been alowed to happen in the first place..
St.Pauls Catholic School , OGorman Intermediate, and OGorman Highschool are all in a 2 block area from each other….

Laforest Children all get picked up at the end of their driveways and no child walks

Our street runs paralell to McLean Drive North and all children are picked up at the end of their driveway and no child walks to any bus stop.

This issue is not about money Now, some parents believe that if they say anything that ALL the CHILDREN have to walk , So those parents who now have their children picked up at the end of their driveway by the bus driver ,believe that if they voice their concerns that the bus driver will be told to stop picking them up as my bus driver was told, and make them all walk. I am hoping that with my voiceing my concerns that this safety issue will fall on someones ears and help change things and yes I have checked this week and the children get picked up in their driveway (Dec 2005)