Parents must assess their child’s health before sending them on the bus/van or dropping them off at school.  Please see the Government of Ontario’s updated school screening tool. For COVID-19 resources, please visit OPH’s website.

Public Health Ontario Resource

School Screening Tool (Self-Assessment)

New Government guidelines state that if your child has COVID Symptoms, presume they are infected with the virus and self-isolate. Please do not send your child on the bus/van or to school.

Parents will be required to pick up their child at the bus stop or at the school immediately upon identification of a sick child.  Unsupervised sick students at the stop will be isolated on the vehicle upon boarding, to the extent possible.  The student will be required to wear a mask during the trip to school.

The Principal will determine if an identified student may return home on the bus/van, with proper precautions.

• Respiratory and hand hygiene are critical mitigation strategies that limit the transmission of viruses. Students are encouraged to wash their hands thoroughly and/or use hand-sanitizer prior to going to the stop, and then sanitizing their hands again (using their hand-sanitizer) before boarding the bus/van.
• Students from grades KG to 12 must wear a mask, unless unable to do so for medical reasons or due to special needs.

Please keep in mind that reducing COVID-19 risk of transmission is everyone’s responsibility. New Government guidelines state that if your child has COVID Symptoms, presume they are infected with the virus and self-isolate. Please do not send your child on the bus/van or to school.

Reviewing basic school bus safety rules is also critical, particularly for first-time riders.  The following resources are available to teach young students school bus safety: here

If eligible students and their parents choose not to use OSTA’s transportation services, we ask that you opt-out as soon as possible here. Opting Out of Transportation is only temporary and helps OSTA re-organize routes so students whose routes are cancelled can have access to transportation. Parents/Guardians of eligible students may request transportation be re-instituted by completing a Transportation Issues form at any time. Please note that it may take up to a week for transportation to be reinstated after the form is received.

It is recommended that parents and students use active transportation to get to school as much as possible.  Walking and rolling the whole way, or part of the way, will reduce traffic around the school and provide a mask-free experience.

Please see OSTA’s resources designed to help students who live in the Walk Zone: Walking School Bus, Walk-a-Block, Walk&Roll Meetup, Walk to School Routes, Pedestrian Safety Tips, Safer School Zones.

OSTA has suspended the Empty Seat/Courtesy Seating Program this year due to the uncertainty of COVID-19 restrictions.

If eligible students and their parents choose not to use OSTA’s transportation services, we ask that you opt-out as soon as possible here. 

Opting Out of Transportation is only temporary and helps OSTA re-organize routes so students whose routes are cancelled can have access to transportation. Parents/Guardians of eligible students may request transportation be re-instituted by completing a Transportation Issues form at any time. Please note that it may take up to a week for transportation to be reinstated after the form is received.

School Bus Safety Starts at Home!

Did you know that school bus safety is EVERY bus rider’s responsibility?

To ensure your child understands how to take the bus safely, OSTA recommends that parents/guardians:

• Review the School Bus Safety Brochure with their child, either online or in hardcopy format, before school starts and on a regular basis
• Help their child understand their role in keeping themselves, and the other riders, safe.
• Practice proper bus riding behaviour at home with their child.

You can help the bus driver get everyone to and from school safely, simply by following these bus safety rules!

Students who live in the same household will be expected to sit together, while single riders may be grouped with classmates, to the extent possible.

The School prepares the seat assignment and Drivers will be responsible for telling students in which seat they should sit.  Seats will be clearly numbered. The student must stay in their assigned seat during every ride in order to maintain cohort bubbles to the extent possible to help reduce the transmission of the virus and keep everyone safe.

Kindergarten students will be seated near the front, and parent/guardian will be required to meet them at their stop, as usual.

Seat assignments may change due to newly registered students, however, OSTA may attempt to limit changes to seat assignments, if necessary.

Parents/guardians and students are expected to do their best to maintain adequate physical distance between family groupings.  A distance of 2m between families is suggested.

Stops, where there are many students (i.e. apartment buildings, congregated stops), may be divided into 2 or more stops in order to allow space for smaller groups of students to wait.  It is important that students arrive at their designated stop at least 5 minutes before the posted stop time.

Once the bus arrives, students should not crowd the front door.  Rather, students should line up while maintaining a 2m physical distance between them, where possible.  No more than one student should be on the stairs at a time.  Students should get to their assigned seats and sit down with their bag on their lap as quickly as possible.

Operators will do their utmost to keep the same driver on the same run, every day.  Drivers will be expected to wear a mask unless they are unable to do so due to a medical condition or because it interferes with their vision.  As students board, drivers may be wearing a mask and face shield or goggles.  This can be frightening for children, who may not recognize their friendly faces. Parents/guardians should consider talking about this aspect of the ride with their children before their first trip on the bus or van, and supervise them at the stop until they board the vehicle.

Because Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) is designed to protect the wearer, drivers of yellow buses and vans will have the option to wear whatever PPE they feel protects them best. Drivers will be provided with PPE, including high-quality non-fit tested N95 masks (optional) or medical-grade masks (minimum requirement), face shields, goggles and rapid antigen tests. Drivers will also self-assess daily and report any symptoms requiring further testing or isolation to their Operator.  Drivers should wear their protective equipment while responding to a first aid event.

Drivers of wheelchair buses will be required to wear additional PPE, not only to protect themselves but also to protect each student from cross-contamination. These drivers should wear a face shield or goggles, a mask and a paper gown when handling and securing individual students’ wheelchair.  This is due to the close proximity between the driver and the student, and the higher potential for body fluid transmission.  The driver should use hand sanitizer before and after handling each student or wear disposable gloves.

Upon arriving at the school, students will unload from the front to the back, one seat at a time, while maintaining physical distance between them. Students should use their personal hand-sanitizer as soon as they get off the bus and before entering the school, if possible. Schools will direct students to make their way to the appropriate location for their class cohorts.

At dismissal time, Schools will do their best to maintain class cohorts until it is time to load buses/vans.  Class cohorts may be separated into family cohorts upon loading, based on seat assignments.

It is recommended that students and their parents engage in active transportation as much as possible. Walking/biking all the way, or driving and walking partway, are excellent ways to add physical activity to their day. Active Transportation also helps reduce vehicle traffic around schools, creating a safer school zone for children and improving air quality for all.

To help support School Active Transportation, OSTA has created Walking Route Maps, Walk-a-Block Maps and Walk&Roll maps for most schools to help your child walk to school safely. Not only is Active Transportation a wonderful way for students (and parents) to add physical activity to their day, it also helps reduce vehicle traffic around schools, creating a safer school zone for children and improving air quality for all.

Read more about OSTA’s Walk-a-Block, Walk&Roll Meetup and other School Active Transportation programs here!

The Walking School Bus (WSB) at select schools will continue with precautions.  The WSB leader will be wearing a mask and some may also wear a face shield if they prefer to and/or gloves.  Younger students who cannot maintain physical distance from one another will be required to hold a rope which will be marked by tape to demonstrate the correct intervals for individual walkers.  Older students, who understand and respect physical distancing, may follow behind the younger group.  This rope will be cleaned between each run.  Students are not required to wear masks outdoors but should bring them to school.  Students should have their personal hand sanitizer to clean their hands prior to holding the rope and directly after they arrive at school.

• Assigned seating by family bubble or classroom bubble, to the extent possible. Seats will be clearly numbered and the driver will indicate in which seat each student should sit.
• Loading capacity will be as normal, with a full load being 48-70 students, depending on the number of eligible students and their grade level. Students may be seated 2 or 3 per bench.
• Students from grades KG to 12 must wear a mask, unless unable to do so for medical reasons or due to special needs.
• The bench behind the driver will be left vacant, to the extent possible. This bench may be used to isolate a sick child.
• Deep cleaning of vehicles twice a day with an approved disinfectant. Once after the morning runs and once again after the afternoon runs.  The handrail, a high touch area, will be cleaned after every run.

We understand that many parents and students are feeling anxious about many aspects of the return to school. OC Transpo’s goal is to provide a safe, simple and stress-free return to school transportation. In collaboration with Ottawa Public Health, OC Transpo continues to make transit service as safe as possible for everyone, with mandatory masks for all customers, enhanced cleaning, hand sanitizer dispensers in stations and protective shields around bus operators.

OC Transpo is working closely with all four school boards, OSTA and CTSO, on this year’s back-to-school plans. OC Transpo understands this remains an evolving situation, and we are ready to adjust our services as required. Our trip schedules are based on the most recent information, including:

• Matching trip times to school times and start dates;
• Adding trips to accommodate early dismissal times from some high schools; and,
• Monitoring crowding on school routes and traffic conditions every day and having buses on standby to ensure space for all students.

Safer door-to-door

• OC Transpo has developed a “safer door-to-door” brochure that will be distributed by schools to students when they get their Presto cards. The brochure shows a simple step-by-step process that outlines how to use the transit system and includes messaging on health and safety measures such as always wearing a mask and using hand sanitizer. OC Transpo safer door to door

In summary, OC Transpo is implementing a number of initiatives to assist with the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic, including the following:

• Careful monitoring – All bus routes that serve schools will be monitored so we can make adjustments based on early trends and observations.
• Deployment of resources – Buses will be on standby to address possible gaps or overloads as required.

As OC Transpo finalizes plans with OSTA details will be communicated on octranspo.com, social media, and through promotion with our partners. Students and parents should check the Travel Planner for schedules before school starts. Some details are still being finalized so they are encouraged to keep checking.

• Parents and school staff must wear a mask when securing students within the van
• Parents may choose to use a non-scented, disinfectant wipe to clean any plastic or metal surfaces where their child will be sitting. Spray will not be permitted.
• Senior students sitting in the front seat must wear a mask.
• Students from grades KG to 12 must wear a mask, unless unable to do so for medical reasons or due to special needs.
• Assigned seating by family bubble or classroom bubble, to the extent possible. Loading up to 6 passengers
• Deep cleaning of vehicles twice a day with an approved disinfectant. Once after the morning runs and once again after the afternoon runs.

• The driver may wear a gown, face shield or goggles, mask, and gloves, depending on the circumstances. The driver will use hand sanitizer before and after loading each student or wear gloves.
• Assigned seating by family bubble or classroom bubble, to the extent possible. Seats will be clearly numbered and the driver will indicate in which seat each student should sit.
• Loading capacity will be normal. Ambulatory Students may be seated 2 or 3 per bench.  All wheelchair positions will be used to secure students using wheelchairs.
• Students from grades KG to 12 must wear a mask, unless unable to do so for medical reasons or due to special needs.
• The bench behind the driver will be left vacant, to the extent possible. This bench may be used to isolate a sick child.
• Deep cleaning of vehicles twice a day with an approved disinfectant. Once after the morning runs and once again after the afternoon runs.  The handrail, a high touch area, as well as any other affected areas, will be cleaned after every run.

Bus attendants and monitors will wear increasingly protective gear, depending on their role within the bus/van.  Any individuals that come into close proximity with a student (i.e. to load and secure the student) will likely wear a gown, face shield or goggles, a mask and gloves. An alternative to using gloves is to use hand sanitizer before and after handling each student.

Individuals who are only monitoring students and who are not required to enter into the 2m physical space around students for any reason, will only be required to wear masks, unless unable to do so, and may choose to wear face shields or goggles.

Adult Crossing Guards (ACG) are deployed at warranted locations by the City of Ottawa and are managed by the Ottawa Safety Council. The ACG will be wearing a mask and some may also wear a face shield if they prefer to. The ACG will indicate using chalk lines or by speaking to students as to where they should stop and stand while waiting to cross the street while maintaining physical distance from pedestrians and students.

Students are asked to make a special effort to give crossing guards some space while crossing the street.  Drivers are reminded that it is illegal to proceed through an intersection while a crossing guard remains in the intersection, even if it appears there is space.  This is a finable offence.

Recently, the government's COVID-19 monitoring and response strategy has changed regarding how they respond to the virus. As of January 2022, schools will no longer be performing contact tracing. Parents can voluntarily inform their child's school if they have tested positive on a RAT or PCR test. A formal notification of a positive COVID case will only be made at the school board's discretion if the information is available.

New Government guidelines state that if your child has COVID Symptoms, presume they are infected with the virus and self-isolate. Please do not send your child on the bus/van or to school.

OSTA determines if transportation at a particular school must be suspended on a per case basis.

It is not mandatory for staff and drivers to be vaccinated against COVID 19 however it is highly recommended.

To protect the safety of everyone on the school bus or van, drivers are required to self-assess daily and report any symptoms requiring further testing or isolation to their Operator.

Unvaccinated drivers or those who have not disclosed their vaccination status, are required, to perform rapid antigen testing and attest, at least twice weekly, 48 hours prior to working.

Any driver (vaccinated or unvaccinated), who gets a positive result from the rapid antigen test, must not report to work and must isolate according to Public Health guidance.