Bussing Changes to Include More Students

In April 2023 Alberta Education announced that it would change school transportation funding to include more students. In December 2023 the province moved the mandatory implementation date to the 2025-2026 school year. We are excited to announce that beginning in the 2024-2025 school year — one year ahead of schedule — Livingstone Range School Division will offer bussing according to the new eligibility.

Currently, students are eligible for transportation when they reside 2.4 km or greater from their designated school. Beginning in September 2024, these distances have been reduced to 1 km for Kindergarten to Grade 6 students and 2 km for students in Grades 7 to 12.  We will continue to operate with no bussing fees for families.

Depending on bus driver availability, our goal is to offer this in all communities. This decision will be made and communicated in early June 2024. We are currently hiring bus drivers. Visit lrsd.ca/busdrivers for employment opportunities and applications.

As a parent, what should I do now?
Ensure your physical address AND parent email address is correct with your child's school. Our Transportation Department is working on determining eligibility and bus route assignments. If both of these addresses are correct with your school, there is nothing else you need to do.

How is the bussing qualification distance determined?
The student address on file is used in our mapping software. We use industry-standard routing software approved by Alberta Education that calculates the driving distance from the student address on file to the designated school of attendance.  We cannot accept calculations from online maps, which may differ. It is vitally important that your address is current and updated with your school.

Will all of my children qualify for bussing?
Alberta Education legislates that students in Kindergarten to Grade 6 who live 1 km or more from their designated school qualify for bussing, and that students in Grades 7-12 who live 2 km or more from designated school qualify for bussing. Therefore,  the calculated distance from your address to your child's school may differ within your family. 

How will I know the bus route, stop location, and schedule?
For newly qualified bus students, you will receive notification of this mid-July.  More specific route information will be sent out mid-August from our Transportation Department. For existing bussing students, your bus driver will contact you.

Did you know?
Our dedicated and professional bus drivers safely transport more than 1600 students across our division. With the new distance changes, we anticipate an additional 500 students will be bussed to and from school each day.

For more information, please visit www.lrsd.ca/transportation. If you have specific questions about your child's bussing eligibility, email bussing@lrsd.ab.ca.