PREAMBLE
This Usage Agreement has been developed and is maintained by the Ottawa Christian School (OCS) Transportation Committee under the auspices of its Bus Service Policy (the "Policy").
As stated in the Policy, the OCS Transportation Committee (the "Committee") exists to support current and prospective OCS families in securing safe and affordable transportation to and from OCS.
1. PAYMENT TERMS AND TERMINATION
School transportation service is meant to be a self-funded initiative meaning that users will generally absorb the full cost of the service. For this reason, The Committee has established the following payment and cancellation terms which it must enforce in order to meet its goal to provide affordable service to the OCS community:
- Cost of bus transportation is specified in the registration package.
- Bus transportation must be paid at the beginning of each year with post-dated checks, made out to the school, covering the whole amount. Payments can also be done via Pre-Authorized Debits (forms are at the school office).
- Once this Usage Agreement has been entered into, families that wish to discontinue using the bus service must provide three (3) months' notice in writing. In lieu of such notice, payment of thee pledge amount for the three-month notice period will be required.
2. BUS ROUTES AND ACCESS TO SERVICE
- The Committee bases its bus route planning on applications submitted to the OCS registrar and forwarded to the Committee after verification of completeness.
- The Committee maintains a list of duly registered users and shares relevant aspects of this list (e.g. riders names and ages), along with the bus routes, to the service provider. Persons on the Committee’s list or persons with a valid one-way ride ticket only will be permitted to ride on the bus.
- Official bus routes are published on the OCS Website (www.ocschool.org). Each published version will bear distinct identifiers such as version # and/or publication date and time.
- The Committee may make changes to the official bus routes upon giving all users of the given route reasonable advance notice in writing. Reasonableness will be determined by the Committee based on factors such as the circumstances prompting the change and whether or not the user community was engaged in consultations leading to the change advisory.
- Should changes to the route result in a student having to walk further than the following distances, parents may opt out of this agreement without penalty:
> grades JK - SK, 800 m
> grades 1 - 8, 1.6 km
> grades 9 and up, 3.2 km
3. RULES FOR BUS RIDERS
Riding the school bus is a privilege that can be revoked if a student fails to respect the rules in this section. Parents are required to read and discuss the rules in this section with their children:
3.1 Generally, students are expected to conduct themselves in an orderly manner at all times before boarding the bus, while on the bus and when leaving the bus. They are to promptly obey directions and instructions of the driver and/or bus patrol.
WAITING FOR, BOARDING, AND LEAVING THE BUS
3.2 Students are to arrive at their pick up location five (5) minutes before the scheduled bus arrival time and to wait well back from the curb or roadway until the bus comes to a complete stop and the door is open. Bus scheduling is such that the drivers cannot wait for students who are late.
3.3 Students are to board the bus in single file, take their seat promptly and remain seated until they arrive at their destination, unless otherwise directed by the driver.
3.4 Students are never to leave the bus at any stop other than that predetermined by school or parental permission. When leaving the bus, students are to take their personal belongings (books, coats, sweaters, etc.) with them and cross only in front of the school bus at approximately 3 metres from the front of the bus.
FOOD AND CARRY-ON OBJECTS
3.5 In addition to a school bag and lunch box, students may bring items such as hockey sticks on the bus as long as they leave them wedged between a window and seat for the entire duration of the ride. Students may also bring skates on the bus as long as they keep guards on them or keep them in a canvas bag for the entire duration of the ride. Students are to hold their skates and any other belongings on their lap or on the floor at their feet, never in the aisle where they may trip someone.
3.6 Unless a medical reason of which the school and bus driver have been duly informed warrants it, students may not eat or drink on the bus.
3.7 Students may not bring on the bus any large objects that do not fit under the seat or on their lap. Hazardous materials, weapons of any kind, tobacco products, drugs, alcohol, or any other controlled substance are also prohibited.
PROHIBITED BEHAVIOURS
3.8 Behaviours such as the following will not be tolerated: Opening and closing windows without permission, wrestling, using obscene language, yelling, name-calling, tampering with bus equipment, writing on the bus or otherwise intentionally damaging the bus, throwing objects inside the bus or outside the bus windows, using nuisance items such as laser lights or fog horns, or, talking to the driver about non-urgent matters while the bus is in motion.
NON-COMPLIANCE
3.9 Bus drivers are required to submit a Student Behaviour Report to the principal regarding any pupil who does not follow this code of conduct.
