Manitoba
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Manitoba Education

Pupil Transportation

Responsibility

School Bus Vehicles

  • Oversees the purchase of new school bus vehicles via a central tender process
  • Liaison between school divisions and school bus and equipment manufacturers
  • Inspects new school bus units for defects and ensures correction before delivery to school divisions
  • Performs research and development on new school bus equipment
  • Provides school divisions with school bus regulatory information and ensures compliance with regard to school bus vehicle operations
  • Maintains and monitors a school bus "failed materials" database
  • Maintains a school bus accident database

School Bus Driver Certification

  • Issues School Bus Operator Certificates and maintains a provincial school bus driver registry

Training

  • Conducts School Bus Driver Instructor Courses and certifies participants who successfully complete the three phases of instruction
  • Coordinates seminars geared to school bus mechanics
  • At school divisions' requests, participate in school bus driver inservice sessions
  • Publishes the School Bus Drivers' Handbook and School Bus Driver Instructor's Manual
  • Develops resource material used for school bus driver training and student ridership training

Transportation System Reviews

The Pupil Transportation Unit (PTU) conducts school bus transportation system reviews in Manitoba school divisions. These reviews began in 1998 in response to recommendations contained in “The Rubin Report” (an inquiry held into the death of a seven year old student who was run over by his school bus).

During a review, PTU staff assess the following areas of a school division’s transportation system:

  1. Administration and Management
  2. The Pupil
  3. The Public, Parents, and Patrons
  4. The School Bus Driver
  5. The School Bus Vehicle
  6. The School Bus Maintenance Program

Information is gathered through discussions with various school division personnel, meetings with drivers, examination of current policy, questionnaires to school principals, and inspection of a number of vehicles in the school bus fleet. As well, a school bus riders’ knowledge test is given to grade 4 students to assess their ridership knowledge. A school bus operator’s written exam is given to school bus drivers, and a questionnaire is completed by the Division’s service technicians to determine their knowledge, safety awareness, and how they approach their jobs.  Student loading and unloading procedures are also observed and videotaped at schools and on routes.

Liaison/Committees

  • PTU’s Senior Field Officer is a member of the Canadian Standards Association’s (CSA) Technical Committee on School Buses. This is a national committee comprised of provincial government representatives and school bus manufacturers. The committee focuses on interpretation and monitoring of school bus safety standards and initiatives put forward by various authorities (e.g. Transport Canada). The committee is also responsible for producing up-to-date versions of CSA D250 (School Buses Standard); CSA D409 (Motor Vehicles for the Transportation of Persons With Physical Disabilities Standard); and CSA D270 (Multi-Functional Activity Buses (MFAB Standard).
  • PTU liaises with both Manitoba Public Insurance and Manitoba Infrastructure and Transportation regarding school bus driver licencing issues, school bus vehicle issues, and issues that overlap with The Highway Traffic Act.
  • On an ongoing basis, PTU staff are involved with various committees formed to examine current pupil transportation issues.