News

2024-2025 Busing Information is available through the Parent Portal

Requests for or changes to transportation for eligible students for the first day of school on Wednesday, September 4, 2024 must be received by our office no later than Tuesday, August 27, 2024.

Due to the extremely high volume of requests received between the end of August and mid-September every year, we will once again be operating on a modified schedule for processing eligible requests:

• Requests received and approved by Tuesday, August 27, 2024 will be effective for Wednesday, September 4, 2024
• Requests received and approved between Wednesday, August 28, 2024 and Friday, September 6, 2024 will be effective for Wednesday, September 11, 2024
• Requests received and approved between Monday, September 9, 2024 and Friday, September 13, 2024 will be effective for Wednesday, September 18, 2024
• We will return to our regular 3 school day turnaround for approved requests starting Monday, September 16, 2024

Requests for transportation for Lakehead Public Elementary schools, All Thunder Bay Catholic schools, Conseil Scolaire de District Catholique des Aurores Boréales Thunder Bay schools and École Publique des Vents du Nord, while they are open before and at the end of the summer break, must be made by contacting the school office. During the summer break when schools are closed, requests can be submitted by calling Student Transportation Services of Thunder Bay directly. Lakehead Public Secondary School requests can be made by calling Student Transportation Services of Thunder Bay at any time.

Your Busing May Change Next Year

Click the image below to view the Summer 2024 Edition of our On The Bus newsletter for important reminders about school bus eligibility and walk to stop policy changes as well as information on how and when to view next year's transportation information.

Summer 2024

All schools will be dismissing early on Monday, April 8, 2024 due to the partial solar eclipse anticipated during normal dismissal time. See images below for April 8th early dismissal bell times at all schools and when to expect students on regular busing to be dropped off on that day.

LDSB Schools	TBCDSB Schools	CSDCAB & CSPGNO Schools

 

All eligible students needing transportation and who are attending either a SENIOR ELEMENTARY SCHOOL or a SECONDARY SCHOOL in Thunder Bay are required to apply for school bus transportation annually.

This applies to all eligible students entering grades 7 or 8 at  a Senior Elementary School, and grades 9 through 12 at any Secondary School in September 2024, including current Grade 12 students who plan on returning for an additional year.

NOTE: the eligibility distance policy  for students in grade 9 through 12 next school year will be changing to 3.2km between home and zoned school. The eligibility distance policy for students in grade 7 or 8 will remain unchanged at 1.6km. Please check the 'Can I Ride A Bus?' feature in the eligibiity tool at our website to confirm, remembering to change the school year to 2024-2025 at the bottom of the webpage when checking.

School bus transportation applications for eligible students attending the following schools in September 2024 must be completed and submitted at https://www.ststb.ca/en/apply-transportation by April 30, 2024 in order to be considered in our preparations of routes for next year. Late applications may result in delays in being assigned to a bus until after the start of the school year.

Bishop E.Q. Jennings Senior Elementary School (gr 7-8)

Bishop Gallagher Senior Elementary School (gr 7-8)

Pope John Paul II School Community (gr 7-8)

ESC de La Vérendrye (gr 7-12)

Hammarskjold High School (gr 9-12)

St. Ignatius High School Thunder Bay (gr 9-12)

St. Patrick High School (gr 9-12)

Superior Collegiate & Vocational Institute (gr 9-12)

Westgate Collegiate and Vocational Institute (gr 9-12)

Only those eligible students planning on attending one of the senior elementary schools or high schools listed above are required to apply for school bus transportation annually and only applications for eligible students will be processed.

All other students returning to LDSB/CSPGNO JK-8 schools, TBCDSB/CSDCAB JK-6 schools next year are assumed to be requesting the same transportation arrangements as this year for next and do not need to re-apply, however the previously announced changes to transportation eligibility distances for these students for next year will also apply. If you need to make a change for students returning to these elementary schools next year, please contact your elementary school office directly.

MEDIA RELEASE

February 2, 2024

Upcoming Student Transportation Changes

(Thunder Bay, ON) The Conseil scolaire de district catholique des Aurores boréales, Thunder Bay Catholic District School Board, Lakehead Public Schools, Conseil scolaire du Grand Nord and Student Transportation Services of Thunder Bay were advised by the Ministry of Education of a new transportation funding formula in 2023. This new funding formula affects the student transportation capacity provided to the three school boards by Student Transportation Services of Thunder Bay. Due to the funding formula imposed by the Government of Ontario, current student transportation changes will be in effect beginning September 1, 2024, for the three Boards.

In the new funding formula developed by the Government of Ontario, most student transportation eligibility distances have been doubled from that of our current transportation eligibility distances.

As of September 1, 2024, the student transportation eligibility distances to and from school will be as follows:

·         Junior Kindergarten and Senior Kindergarten: minimum 800 metres (current 400 metres)

·         Grades 1 to 3: minimum 1.6 kilometres (current 800 metres)

·         Grades 4 to 8: unchanged at 1.6 kilometres

·         Grades 9 to 12: minimum 3.2 kilometres (current 1.6 kilometres)

The upcoming changes to transportation eligibility distances may affect families who reside less than these Government of Ontario distance funding standards. Local school boards and Student Transportation Services of Thunder Bay understand that this news may present challenges for some families. It is our hope that the advanced notice prepares families for the upcoming change.

COMMUNIQUÉ DE PRESSE

2 février 2024

Changements à venir pour le transport des élèves

(Thunder Bay, ON) Le Conseil scolaire de district catholique des Aurores boréales, le Conseil scolaire du Grand Nord, le Thunder Bay Catholic District School Board, le Lakehead Public School Board, le Conseil scolaire du Grand Nord et le Consortium de transport de Thunder Bay ont été informés par le ministère de l’Éducation d’une nouvelle formule de financement du transport en 2023. Cette nouvelle formule aura un impact sur la capacité de transport des élèves fournie par le Consortium aux trois conseils scolaires. 

Ainsi, des changements sur les distances d’admissibilités seront en vigueur à compter du 1^er septembre 2024 pour les trois conseils scolaires.

Les nouvelles distances d’admissibilité au transport des élèves pour se rendre à l’école et en revenir seront les suivantes à partir de la prochaine rentrée scolaire :

·         Maternelle et jardin d’enfants : 800 mètres (actuellement 400 mètres)

·         De la 1^re à 3^e : 1,6 km (800 mètres actuellement)

·         De la 4^e à la 8^e année : 1,6 km (pas de changement)

·         De la 9^e à la 12^e année : 3,2 km (1,6 kilomètre actuellement)

Cette révision des distances d’admissibilité au transport affectera les familles qui résident dans les limites de nouveaux critères d’admissibilité au transport mis en place par le gouvernement de l’Ontario. Les conseils scolaires et le Consortium de transport des élèves de Thunder Bay comprennent que cette nouvelle peut représenter un défi pour certaines familles.

Nous espérons que cet avis préalable préparera les familles au changement à venir.

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