Registration
Q. How do I find out what school catchment my child(ren) will be in?
A. School catchment areas are set geographical boundaries for each CCRCE school. Your primary residence address will determine what school your child will attend. Visit CCRCE's BusPlanner to identify your school catchment.
Q. How do I register
my child for student transportation?
If your child is eligible for transportation, you do not need to register your child for busing. Eligible children are automatically assigned a bus. Families can review your child’s bus information for upcoming school year each August in the Parent Portal of Bus Planner.
Please Note: If you are move into a new school catchment over the summer, please contact the Transportation team to register your child for busing, if eligible.
Q. How do I request
an alternate address for pick-up and drop-off if I want my child to go to an
after-school program or daycare?
If you have an update to your alternate address (e.g., daycare or after-school program), you may contact the Student Transportation Team directly by emailing [email protected] or by calling 1-866-428-4696.
Please note that changes to address information on file may affect bus routing and eligibility.
Students are assigned to routes based on their residence or alternate residence information in PowerSchool, if eligible. All transportation addresses must be in catchment of the student’s assigned school. You can check your transportation eligibility at Home Page - BusPlanner Web (mybusplanner.ca).
Students are eligible for student transportation based on their residence; however, CCRCE recognizes that childcare arrangements may require students to travel on alternate buses.
During registration, parents/guardians can identify an alternate residence address for either AM pick-up, PM drop-off, or both, provided:
- the change is consistent 5 days a week,
- the requested stop is already established on an existing route serviced by that school,
- the alternate residence address is within the school catchment (not out-of-catchment area), and
- there is sufficient space on the bus.
Q. Who do I contact to change my address if we are moving or changing daycares?
Families must contact their child’s school to make changes to their information on file.
If you have an update to your alternate address (e.g., daycare or after-school program), you may contact the Student Transportation Team directly year-round by emailing [email protected] or by calling 1-866-428-4696.
Please note that changes to address information on file may affect bus routing and eligibility.
Q. How do I arrange transportation for my child with special needs?
There is a process to determine transportation requirements for a child with special needs. To initiate this process, please contact your child’s school. The principal will work with CCRCE’s Student Services team to assess the student’s need and requirements for transportation.
If approved, busing will be provided to your child, regardless of the distance you live from the school in your catchment. A member of our Student Transportation Team will reach out, once routing is finalized.
Q. How do I arrange transportation for my child if we are a family with custodial arrangements?
For families with custodial arrangements, please contact your school to ensure your residence or alternate residence addresses are entered within PowerSchool under transportation information.
Routes are assigned based on student’s transportation address information in PowerSchool. All addresses must be bus eligible. Check your transportation eligibility by clicking here.
Eligibility
Q. How far do I have to live from the school to be eligible for school bus transportation?
Transportation is available to elementary students and children attending Pre-Primary programs who live more than 1.6 km from their school in their designated catchment area.
For students in middle and secondary schools, transportation is available to students who live more than 2.4 km from their school in their designated catchment area. Please check student eligibility at
Home Page - BusPlanner Web (mybusplanner.ca)
Q. Is my child bus eligible? How do I check my child’s transportation eligibility?
Visit https://ccrce.mybusplanner.ca/ and click “Can I Ride a Bus?”
Q. My child isn’t eligible for transportation, and I disagree. Who do I contact?
If you have any questions, please email [email protected] or call1-866-428-4696.
Transportation Review Committee for Policy Review
As part of the new provincial School Transportation Policy, families are now able to request a review of any non-behaviour related transportation decision.
Q. I have chosen to send my child to a school as an out-of-catchment area student. Are they eligible for student transportation?
By requesting and receiving approval for a student transfer, families are responsible for transporting their child to and from school. Click here to learn more about eligibility for transportation or contact the CCRCE Student Transportation Team at [email protected].
Q. I would like to send my child on the bus to an out-of-catchment area daycare/camp or after-school program. Can they get a bus route if they are bus eligible for their residence?
By requesting and receiving approval for a student transfer, families are responsible for transporting their child to and from school.
Q. My child wants to go to a friend’s house or after-school program. Can they take a bus that is not their assigned bus?
No. This is a safety issue. We are responsible for your child during the school day, and we take that responsibility seriously. We need to know where all students are at all times and students should only be riding the bus routes that they are assigned to in the Parent Portal.
Q. Will all Pre-Primary children be bus eligible?
Similar to all CCRCE students, if Pre-primary children fall within the distance criteria, they will be eligible for busing. Pre-Primary children who live more than 1.6 km from the school in their designated catchment area will be provided with busing.
Visit https://ccrce.mybusplanner.ca/ and click “Can I Ride a Bus?”
It is the responsibility of the parent/guardian to ensure all pre-primary through grade 2 students are supervised by parents/guardians, or an individual designated by the parent/guardian, until the bus arrives in the morning and are there to greet the student in the afternoon.
Bus Routing
Q. When will I know my child’s route and bus stop?
Don't forget to review your child’s route information in late August before school starts in BusPlanner, even if you have reviewed earlier in the summer, as route adjustments may have been made. If your information hasn’t changed from the previous year, there is no need to contact Transportation.
Q. How far will my child have to walk to get the bus?
In general, CCRCE plans bus stops to ensure students have to walk no more than 800 metres to their nearest bus stop. However, in some areas, this distance may be longer if the bus is unable to safely access a closer stop.
Q. I have other children at home and cannot accompany my child to the bus. Can the bus make an extra stop at my house?
It is the responsibility of parents/guardians to get students safely to designated stops. These stops are chosen for a variety of safety and efficiency reasons. Extra stops cannot be added to accommodate individual families.
Unassigned Seats Update
Q. Can my child get an unassigned seat (previously called, courtesy seat) for next year?
The Unassigned Seat Request process is for families who live outside the distance for eligible busing based on the NS School Transportation Policy.
Families who are already eligible for busing do not need to submit an unassigned seating request.
Families can apply for an unassigned seat for the next school year. Even if families applied last year, you must reapply every year for an unassigned seat.
Applications can be completed online by clicking here or by contacting 1-866-428-4696.
Q. When will I find out if my child gets a seat?
Families will be contacted if approved for a seat starting at the end of September or earlier, if possible, if seating is available.
Student registration is open throughout the summer and into September. We are first required to provide bus routes to students eligible for transportation, and it keeps us busy at the opening.
As soon as student registration settles in September, we can determine unassigned seats and make them available.
Q. If I was approved for an unassigned seat last year, do I need to reapply this year?
Yes. See above for how to re-apply.
Q. I want to send my child to an out-of-catchment area daycare before or after school. How do I request an unassigned seat?
If a student attends school as an out-of-catchment area student, they are not eligible for transportation and parents/guardians must make arrangements to transport their child to/from school.
Pre-Primary Busing
Q. I want to register my child for Pre-primary, but I don’t know if I am eligible for busing. How does my child become eligible for busing?
Students must reside within the designated catchment of the school they are attending and meet the minimum distance criteria to be eligible for transportation. Busing is provided to Pre-Primary children who live more than 1.6 km from their designated school. All transportation addresses including alternate addresses such as daycares must be in the school catchment.
Visit https://ccrce.mybusplanner.ca/ to determine eligibility by clicking "Can I Ride a Bus?" If you have any questions about eligibility, please get in touch with us by emailing [email protected] or calling at 1-866-428-4696.
Q. What do Pre-primary families need to know about busing?
To/from the bus stop:
- A parent/guardian or designate must accompany children in Pre-Primary to Grade 2 to/from the bus stop and remain with the child until they are safely boarded. A parent/guardian or designate must also meet the child at the stop at the end of the day.
- If a parent/guardian or designate is not at the drop-off stop to meet the child at the end of the day, parents/guardians will be contacted and the child will be returned to the school for pick-up after the bus run is complete.
Seatbelts:
The Motor Vehicle Act requires all children under 40 pounds and 57 inches in height to use a seatbelt on a school bus, if they are available. A parent/guardian is required to buckle and unbuckle their child as bus drivers cannot leave their seats. An ECE will assist your child with safely boarding and unboarding the bus at the school.
Q. Where is my bus stop? What time will the bus pick-up and drop-off my child?
BusPlanner is a site that allows parents/guardians to review busing information, including bus stop locations.
Q. Who will greet my child at the school? Who will put them on the bus to come home?
Early Childhood Educators will greet Pre-Primary children as they arrive at school and assist them with boarding the bus at the end of the day.
Q. Will there be monitors on the buses for Pre-primary children?
Four-year-olds in Nova Scotia have been bused regularly and safely for more than a decade without additional supervision. There is no additional supervision on CCRCE buses.
Q. Will my child be riding the bus with older kids? Even grade 12s?
Your child will be on the same bus as your family, friends and neighbours from your community. This means your child will ride the bus with students that attend the school where your Pre-primary program is located at. This is not uncommon, as four-year-olds have been bused to programs and schools across the province regularly and safely for more than a decade.
Q. My child has special needs. Will they be accommodated to ride the bus
Pre-Primary is an inclusive program. Children with special needs, who meet the eligibility criteria to be bused to the program, will have access to transportation. There is a process to determine transportation requirements for a child with special needs. To initiate this process, please contact the principal at your child’s school.
Q. I need to change my address, contact information or email address – who do I contact?
During the school year, please contact your child’s school to make changes to your information on file. If you change addresses in the summer months, school administrative assistants are back to school mid-end of August to help you with this change.
If you have an update to your alternate address (e.g., daycare or after-school program), you may contact the Student Transportation Team directly year-round by emailing [email protected] or by calling 1-866-428-4696.
Please note that changes to address information on file may affect bus routing and eligibility.
Q. What and where is the BusPlanner Parent Portal?
BusPlanner is the transportation management website that allows families to review busing information including bus stop locations. You can visit the Parent Portal at https://ccrce.mybusplanner.ca/.
Q. Where and when do I sign up for the Parent Portal?
To sign up for the Parent Portal on Bus Planner:
- Go tohttps://ccrce.mybusplanner.ca/
- Click on Parent Portal
- Create an account and access your child’s bus information ongoing with just your email and password.
- Add your child to your account by using your student’s ID and your street number/civic number (Your child’s student ID can be found in PowerSchool or on your child’s report card. If you need help accessing your child’s student ID, please contact your school).
A few things to consider:
All student information is pulled from PowerSchool. Please verify that your civic address is up-to-date and accurate. If you experience an invalid sign-in, please contact your child’s school to check PowerSchool information on the following:
- Date of Birth
- Civic Number
- Student ID
Contact Us
Year-round (even in the summer), the CCRCE Student Transportation Team can answer your questions about school bus routes, stops and schedules. We are also available to discuss any concerns you may have about your child’s student transportation.
Please get in touch with us by emailing or by calling 1-866-428-4696.