School District 68 has rolled out two new seat belt-equipped busses to its fleet, effective Sept. 2019. (Pixabay)

By Alex Rawnsley

BUCKLE UP

SD 68 adds seat belt equipped school buses

Sep 9, 2019 | 8:08 AM

NANAIMO — Students traveling to and from school on select district-operated buses will enjoy some added safety.

Nanaimo Ladysmith Public Schools added its first two seatbelt equipped buses to its transportation fleet.

The buses are already in service, according to district communications director Dale Burgos.

“One is operating full-time on Gabriola Island, then the second one is going to be used in the city of Nanaimo or the town of Ladysmith.”

Burgos added the bus scheduled to operate in Nanaimo or Ladysmith could be made available for field trips, or used on a regular route.

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The 77-passenger buses came at a cost of $142,160.48 and were funded by the provincial government.

The topic of seat belts on school buses has long been hotly debated, with costs being compared to safety benefits.

A petition to the federal education ministry started in late 2018, and has since gathered over 115,000 signatures.

Burgos told NanaimoNewsNOW the two additions to the fleet don’t impact the rest of the district’s bus lineup.

“There is no plan right now to add seat belts to our current school bus fleet, however, in the future if there are some new school buses that are needed and ordered by the district, those buses will have seat belts as well.”

District officials sent an email to parents on Monday, Sept. 9 making them aware of the pair of new seat belt equipped buses. The email also advised parents of potential delays on routes to allow kids to buckle in, while drivers can assist students if needed.

“Ultimately it’s about student safety. Every passenger vehicle out there has seat belts and this just one of those natural progressions for a school district to start using a bus with seat belts,” Burgos said.

It was noted that students failing to properly use the seat belts could face a loss of riding privileges.

alex.rawnsley@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @alexrawnsley