As families prepare for the excitement of back to school, many are finding out they will not have bus transportation provided for their children.
With many of the affected families living too far to walk or bike, this puts an undue burden onto the shoulders of families in rural communities. We don’t have access to public transit. We don’t have access to Uber (and it would be prohibitively expensive for many families). Our families are already juggling schedules due to longer commute times driving to work, many of whom work outside of our rural boundaries.
It appears as though seven schools that serve our ward are affected, and there are over 45 total buses that have been cancelled or have an unknown plan for service.
Although school transportation falls outside of the scope of my role as your City Councillor, our taxes contribute to the OCDSB and the OCDB, and there is an expectation that our children will receive adequate transportation so that they may thrive in their educational environment without burdening families.
I am aware of the unanticipated challenges this will place on families, especially at the last minute, and I will work together with my Council colleagues and school board to try and find solutions.
Best regards,
Clarke Kelly
West Carleton-March Councillor
City of Ottawa
Update: Video from the Sept 13th OSTA meeting, where Councillor Kelly asks the questions that are important to his residents. He is then removed from the meeting.
CONTACT:
You can email us at Clarke.Kelly@ottawa.ca or call our office at 613-580-2475.
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