Civic politicians are joining the campaign to find transportation alternatives for local students after the Delta school board was forced to cut bus service.
On Monday night, Delta council approved sending a letter to TransLink asking it to work with the Delta school district to revise bus routes and scheduling in Ladner, Tsawwassen and North Delta to provide more accessible public transportation options for students.
The board approved a series of budget cuts last month, including eliminating bus service for most students. To make up for a phased $728,000 cut in transportation funding from Victoria, the district eliminated rural service, but maintained it for special needs students.
The school district currently provides bus service to about 400 students; 60 per cent of those live outside the district's walking limits, while the other 40 per cent are special needs students.
In 2002, Victoria changed the School Act to make student transportation the responsibility of parents and bussing an optional service for school districts. However, the funding formula remained the same so Delta continued to offer the service.
This year, the Ministry of Education changed the funding formula, which resulted in a reduction in Delta from more than $1.5 million to $830,000.
"The formula, from Delta's perspective, is definitely flawed," said Coun. Bruce McDonald. "It is a very serious issue... I don't think we can let it rest."
The letter to TransLink will include specific recommendations from the school board, including extending the operation of the 601 bus or starting the C89 community shuttle bus earlier. It also asks TransLink to provide bus service for students heading to schools in North Delta from the farm areas in East Delta and Panorama Ridge.
"Delta is geographically the largest municipality in the Lower Mainland," school board chair Laura Dixon said in a letter to Mayor Lois Jackson. "The geographical realities of Delta, with farmland and Burns Bog separating the three communities of Ladner, Tsawwassen and North Delta means some families live a fair distance from their nearest schools. We are hearing from these families that they would greatly appreciate and utilize TransLink public bus service if it were made available to transport their children to and from school."
Last week, a large contingent of concerned parents packed a board meeting to continue to voice their displeasure about the elimination of the bussing program.
