(Photo courtesy of Southland Transportation)

By Alex McCuaig

Planning and protocols

City school buses will be ready for students next week

Aug 25, 2020 | 11:53 AM

MEDICINE HAT, AB – Taking the school bus to classes next week will have a far more structured than usual look to it, according to the regional director of the company that provides busing for the three largest school boards in and around Medicine Hat.

“We didn’t just leave it until right before school and then say, ‘here you go bus driver, this is what we’re doing.’” said Craig Loose with Southland Transportation. “We’ve been communicating with them throughout. We also started recruiting and training in June when the government allowed us to reopen our driving school and so both of those things together have assisted in making sure we have the drivers’ support.”

Loose said planning for busing during a pandemic started in March and will include a number of protocols for drivers, students and parents to be aware of.

Social distancing at bus stops, assigned seating on buses, loading students from the back to the front, and drivers wearing masks, gloves and face shields while armed with hand sanitizer will be some of the protocols to keep kids safe, says Loose.

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“It has been obviously a whirlwind of activity – that’s not just related to school busing but life in general,” said Loose. “But upholding our safety promise to our passengers, customers and employees remained our top priority and always will.”

Loose says he doesn’t anticipate any shortages of drivers as the school year gets underway.