BVCS operates two buses to service our AM/PM routes and to run field trips. Without these buses, families have significant inconvenience in getting their children to/from school and our program would suffer (no class trips without parent drivers).
Both buses are showing their age (one is 2005 and the other 2007). Both buses are fully certified in BC. While both are regularly inspected by government (CVSE) and professional mechanics, they increasingly require repairs and service to keep them certified and running. Route reliability has suffered, and break-downs have forced parents to drive their children to and from school. Repair costs on these aging buses are rising. This is a frustrating and non-sustainable situation.
We want our parent community to know:
- our Building, Grounds and Transportation (BGT) Committee board representative is aware of the bus problem.
- our Board has been advised that our buses are aging and in need of replacement.
- we have explored short-term solutions such as rental (while bus #8 has been out of service).
- we have funds (raised last fall) for the purchase of replacement buses.
- we are actively exploring options and making inquiries for acquiring replacement buses.
- finding replacement bus(es) will take weeks or months. The constraint is not a financial one: our school raised the funds and is ready to purchase. Finding a suitable bus is our current task, and it takes time.
We recognize that every dollar spent in repair of these aging buses is a dollar we will not get back. BVCS simply needs to replace bus #7 and #8. As our admin, board and BGT committee work towards a solution we will keep you informed. We realize the urgency to find a robust and timely solution.
Thank you for your patience, and we apologize for the frustration of cancelled routes due to mechanical issues (we share the frustration!). We are looking forward to having replacement bus(es) that will provide us with more reliable service going forward.