Safety

The Toronto Catholic District School Board is dedicated to providing safe and reliable transportation for our students. Safety, however, is a group project that must be shared by all stakeholders. Parents, schools, teachers, bus operators, the School Board, the general public, and students must understand the rules that govern school bus transportation in order to keep our students safe.

Working together we can make sure our students get to and from school safely. Please review the following links that provides information on school bus safety and we all can contribute to the safety of our students.

Back to School Safely

The Back to School Safely program was delivered to area malls again this year! Buster the Bus, Elmer the Safety Elephant, Toronto Police, Safety Patrollers and School Board Staff were all present to deliver the school bus safety message.

Please visit our viewing gallery with a collection of scenes from a prior year's Back To School Safely program.

Purple Equals Parent (PEP) Program

The Purple Equals Parent or PEP program is designed to assist the driver to identify students who must be met. A purple band/tag will be affixed to a student's backpack as an indicator that they must be met. The program requires the involvement of a number of partners including parents, schools, school bus company, school bus driver, the Transportation Department and the student. Each stakeholder has a role to play in ensuring the safe delivery of students home at the end of the day.

Roles & Responsibilities

• The Parent: is responsible to notify the school that their child must be met at the school bus drop-off. They are responsible to be at the stop on time to meet their child or to notify school staff that they will not be able to pick up their child, in which case the child will remain at the school for the parent to pick-up.
• The Student: is responsible to keep the purple tag on their backpack and report a missing tag to their parents or school. They are responsible to know who is to meet them at the bus stop. If the person who normally meets them is not there, they need to inform the driver.
• The Driver: is responsible to check for the purple tag on backpacks and to ensure the student is met. If an adult (or responsible older sibling) is not at the stop, the driver will contact dispatch and await instructions on how to proceed.
• The Bus Company: is responsible to train their drivers so they know the purple tag drop-off procedures.
• The School: is responsible for tagging all students in the PEP program and to replace tags as necessary. School staff will inform the Transportation Department of all tagged students and transportation issues.
• The Transportation Department: is responsible to provide the student lists, brochures, and the purple bands to the schools and bus companies for use.

Purple Equals Parent (PEP) Program Brochure

In-School Safety Program

The In-School safety program is currently delivered by Stock Transportation for students from Junior Kindergarten to grade 8 whether they ride the bus or not. The course is divided into two activities; an in-school portion and an on bus centre. The in-school portion uses videos, songs, and discussion that are age appropriate to highlight school bus safety. The on bus portion has students getting on a bus and going through an emergency evacuation along with a demonstration of proper crossing techniques and school bus etiquette.

Please visit our viewing gallery with a collection of scenes from the in-school program.

Back to School Safely Brochure

Teachers! - The tools below can assist the Student Transportation Department in delivering the message about school bus safety. In order to maximize the impact of our school bus safety program, some of the main concepts need to be reiterated throughout the school year. The resources below provide teachers some material that they may be able to use in their classroom to carry these concepts forward throughout the school year.

• School Bus Crafts and Activities (First School)
• School Bus Online Games (North Carolina School Bus Safety Web)
• School Bus Safety Curriculum (Thunder Bay Catholic DSB)
• www.ontarioroadsafety.ca

Other Resources

Safety Inquiries:

» Email Sheila Dove