Through its annual fleet renewal program, the provincial government is providing School District 27 (Cariboo-Chilcotin) with $1,061,886 for the purchase of 10 new school buses.
The school district will purchase nine larger buses capable of carrying 61-77 passengers and one smaller bus that can carry less than 24 passengers.
“The 10 new buses coming to School District 27 will replace older models and help kids continue to get to school safely,” said Cariboo-Chilcotin MLA Donna Barnett. “With the long distances many students in our region need to travel to get to school, renewing the school district’s fleet of buses is a great investment in our children’s education.”
The Ministry of Education has worked with the Association of School Transportation Services of B.C. to procure school buses using the Standing Offer Pricing model. Contractors, Independent schools and First Nations schools are also able to take advantage of this pricing which has resulted in savings of 10 to 15 per cent each year and saves districts significant administrative and staff time.
The new buses for School District 27 will be delivered next spring.
In total, the provincial government is providing $11 million to 31 school districts to purchase 96 buses.
Additional Information:
In order to qualify for replacement, a bus needs to be on a regular route to school, and have met or exceeded the following criteria regarding age and use: 80 plus passenger buses – 15 years or 400,000 km; 34 to 76 passenger buses — 12 years or 325,000 km; 20 to 29 passenger buses — 10 years or 250,000 km.