The extreme cold snap last week caused havoc with school bus transportation in the Pembina Hills School Division, prompting dozens of in-town and rural bus routes to be cancelled.
The worst day was on Feb. 8, when only six out of the 70 bus routes in the school division actually ran, according to director of transportation Shantelle Haitel.
“It was really cold on that Monday morning. A lot of bus drivers were showing –40 or –41C, and our policy is not to run at –40C at the start of the run,” she said.
The conditions for cancelling bus routes due to the cold are set out in Administrative Procedure 70-101 (Emergency School Closing).
It states, “A temperature registered of minus 40 degrees Celsius or colder at the start of the route will be used to halt transportation services. A bus driver is to report a temperature of –40C or colder to the Director of Transportation.”
Otherwise, bus drivers have the discretion to cancel routes if they feel inclement weather will create a safety hazard.
If they do so, they must make every effort to notify parents along the route, as well as the principal of their local school and the division’s director of transportation (or another designated individual).
Incidentally, the AP does allow for a division-wide shutdown if the weather is especially bad. This is typically based on an assessment of weather data and reports from bus drivers, with a decision being made prior to 6 a.m. on a particular school day.
The reason why there wasn’t a division-wide shutdown of buses on Feb. 9 was due to the fact that the temperature didn’t fall below –40C in every part of the division, Haitel said.
“We also know that the kids have missed a lot of school this year already due to COVID, so we’re trying to offer the service to people who would like to use it, but it’s still up to the parent’s discretion whether they want to make use of the service.”
As the week progressed, there were some additional cancellations of routes but not nearly as many as there were on Feb. 8
On Feb. 12, for instance, the Pembina Hills website only listed on bus route as being delayed.
Haitel said the harsh weather is also very hard on their school buses and they did have a couple of mid-route breakdowns due to the cold.
“We expect that every year, so we always make sure that we have spare buses in the shop warm and ready to go if we have a bus break down en route,” she said.
