School District 69 (Qualicum) courtesy riders will not receive additional help from the Regional District of Nanaimo.
During the most recent school district board meeting on Sept. 22, superintendent Dr. Keven Elder spoke of an update about assistance with transportation.
“The RDN was not able to adjust routes in any meaningful way to serve the demand that’s risen from courtesy riders not being able to ride school district transportation during COVID times,” said Elder.
They were not able to provide any extra buses to aid with the demand either.
Earlier this year, Elder indicated that due to COVID-19 regulations, transportation requirements had to conform with the Ministry of Education guidelines on rider capacity for buses.
With the inability to go beyond two students per seat, the capacity for each bus was reached just with eligible riders, he said.
During the meeting, Elder also said the transportation department has reached out to eligible riders who have not yet registered, to ask they complete registration by the end of last week, or give up their seat. Registered riders were also contacted to see if they could give up their seat, if they’ve decided not to ride.
“We do have wait lists, particularly for courtesy riders,” said Elder. “As routes are confirmed this week, there may be a limited opportunity to offer seats to a small number of courtesy riders on certain routes.”
This would be based on the order in which the applications were received earlier this year. Elder indicated that this was already communicated to parents and staff.
