BVCS Bus

family bus fees will not be pro-rated. This is because our costs (to buy a buy, hire drivers, insure, fuel) do not change with your ridership. The bus fee is not a per-ride calculated fee. Think of it more like a membership. It’s there, regardless of how much or little you use it. For example:
- if you join ½ way through the year, you still pay full price.
- if your child only rides occasionally (like once or twice a week, or just one direction), you still pay full price
- if your child has a stop that is close to school, you still pay full price
family bus fees will not be refunded. For example, if you leave the bus service for any reason we will not refund you in full or in part.

Riding the bus here or there to go to a friend’s house (birthday, babysitting) does not require you to pay for the bus. However, if you’re a regular part of the schedule (even if infrequent), we have to charge. “Once every second week” or “just one way on Tuesdays” is still a regular part of the schedule.

Why are you charging families this amount?

The costs associated with operating these two bus routes are significant. Costs for two routes are projected to be about $114,000 for the year (operations only…capital costs of buying buses is over-and-above this).

We will recoup a portion of the transportation costs through family bus fees and service fees to other schools. Even after these revenues, BVCS is projecting a total net cost of about $50,000 to $70,000.

The reality is that bus transportation is very expensive. Many Christian schools of our size (and larger), such as Cedars (PG), Centennial (Terrace), Houston Christian, Vernon Christian and others operate no bus service whatsoever. We are blessed to be able to offer this, but it comes at a cost.

How many buses do we have?

We will have two operational buses:

Bus #1 is a 2023 Thomas C2 Saf-T-Liner. It entered service in September 2022.
Bus #2 is a 2009 Thomas C2 Saf-T-Liner. It was in service with SD54 before being purchased in 2022 by BVCS.

Both buses are regularly inspected and maintained.

Are we serving other schools?

Yes. We are pleased to have finalized an agreement with St. Joseph’s Catholic School and L’école la Grande-ourse.

Which takes precedence: Field trips or routes?

We have written a Bus Transportation Policy to govern this and other aspects of busing. View it here.

Why can't you put a stop near my house?

Limited buses, routes and drivers mean that we cannot serve everyone. Even if we had more buses and drivers, fuel costs and route times quickly become prohibitive. We realize that bus service is more than a convenience for families, and remote locations are often the families who most need the bus. We wish we could serve everyone.