The purpose of this resource is to support the creation of a campaign to get more students who are eligible for school bus service to ride regularly, rather than driving by car. This is targeted towards students in Kindergarten through Grade 12.

Description

A campaign to encourage students to make full use of their school bus service, by identifying and addressing barriers for users, and by incentivising ridership.  

When students who could ride the bus instead get driven to/from school in personal vehicles, it contributes to traffic congestion at the school and negatively impacts safety for all, especially the students who walk or wheel.  

A good starting point for developing a campaign is to assess how many students are actually riding the school bus – this can be done by conducting a Student Travel Survey and comparing the results to the number of students that are registered for bus service. Ridership levels can also be gauged by carrying out head counts as students disembark or board the bus at school. A Family Travel Survey could also be circulated to gather feedback from students and parents about their school bus experiences and concerns.  

Share the results with the school bus service provider to explore if there are ways to address any issues that may be discouraging ridership, such as long journey times or safety concerns. The service provider may be able to offer school bus safety education, which doesn’t just help improve safety, it also increases student and parent confidence about using this mode of transportation.  

Design a campaign focused on educating and encouraging students, and potentially providing recognition or rewards for riding. A “Ride Your School Bus” campaign might involve:

• Sharing school bus-related information, tips, and facts with families. 
• Celebrating school bus riders, e.g., including them in a Greening Tree activity.
• Engaging students through a poster, photo, video, and/or writing contest.
• Providing incentives to reward students who ride the school bus consistently.
• Establishing a School Safety Patrol to help students get on and off the bus.

What you will need

• Data on how many bused students are not riding the bus regularly, and the reasons why
• Materials and prizes for a ridership campaign

Who can help

Principal, school board staff, school bus service provider, students, teachers, and volunteers.

Lesson Plans and More

Find ready-to-use lesson plans, activities, and facts to engage students in your Ride Your School Bus campaign.

Key words

Student transportation, school bus, traffic, students, public transit, car, school zone, congestion, ridership.