MOOSE JAW — Catholic school buses transported 10.7-per-cent more students during the 2023-24 school year than in 2020-21, while proficient routing methods reduced the number of daily kilometres the fleet travelled by 31.9 per cent.
According to a transportation accountability report that trustees with Holy Trinity Catholic School Division received during their recent meeting, the organization transported 1,177 students from September 2023 to February 2024 and 1,189 pupils from March 2024 to June 2024.
These numbers included students in Moose Jaw, rural and urban students in Prairie South, students in Swift Current and students in Shaunavon.
In comparison, Holy Trinity transported 1,071 students from September 2020 to February 2021 and 1,061 pupils from March 2021 to June 2021.
Therefore, by June 30 of this year, the division transported 128 more students than in June 2021, an increase of roughly 10.7 per cent.
Meanwhile, the average daily distance school buses travelled from September 2023 to February 2024 was 222 kilometres and 226.7 kilometres from March 2024 to June 2024.
In comparison, from September 2020 to June 2021, that average daily number was 332.8 kilometres.
Therefore, by June 30, 2024, the bus fleet travelled 106.1 kilometres fewer than in June 2021, a decrease of roughly 31.9 per cent.
“(That decrease) speaks volumes to the work of our transportation manager for efficiently routing buses to schools using the routing software we acquired a number of years ago,” CFO Curt Van Parys told the board.
“That really goes a long way to keeping our operational costs reasonable for transporting kids in Moose Jaw and within the school division as well.”
Meanwhile, buses in Moose Jaw North were full an average of 86.95 per cent of the time from September 2023 to June 2024 compared to 63.2 per cent from September 2020 to June 2021, he continued. The fact school buses were full nearly 87 per cent of the time throughout the year shows how effective the division used its fleet.
However, “the fly in the ointment” is that the average ride time in Moose Jaw jumped to 28 minutes by June 2024 compared to 24 minutes by June 2021, the CFO added. Yet, that is reasonable in terms of the other efficiencies the division is seeing.
Van Parys highlighted how Holy Trinity has a full complement of bus drivers and has been successful with recruiting and retaining them, which is atypical since other divisions province-wide are struggling to find drivers and having to reduce services.
“So we have a good relationship with our bus drivers,” he said.
Holy Trinity has also been engaging in more community-focused initiatives during the past few years, including co-hosting the Touch-a-Truck event and providing services to the Moose Jaw Multicultural Council office and Sask. Polytechnic daycare.
“We are just dipping a toe in the winter. We realize this is on our nickel, but by being a community partner with other agencies and being well-represented at community events, we think this is a reasonable use of school division resources,” the CFO remarked.
When asked about parent complaints about busing, Van Parys said the division has received a few calls but nothing significant. Conversely, when he worked in Regina, he dreaded the first month of the school year because his phone “rang off the hook with bus complaints.”
“I’ve been here three-and-a-half years and … I’ve taken one call. So, it’s materially different here than in other centres,” he added.
The next Holy Trinity board meeting is Monday, Nov. 18.
