Snow Days and Bus Cancellations

 Greetings!

This is a topic that shows up every year like clockwork. 

People getting upset when school buses are cancelled and either there wasn't much snow that hit or they don't feel the weather is "dangerous enough" because Canada. 

Now, I took the bus in the 90s when I was in high school. We had a dual campus where I was. They were 14KM apart, so they had buses going in the morning, at lunch, and after school. The lunch bus was due to the possibility of having your classes split between both. (Morning at one, afternoon at the other) 

When I was in school, there weren't many snow days. There were, however, partial snow days in which kids from further out of town wouldn't have their buses running. 

Now, just to explain. 

This is the area that the High Scool I went to covered from Terrace Bay to Pays Plat. So for example, if the roads were closed between Schreiber and Rossport, the kids in Rossport and Pays Plat would have a snow day, but we wouldn't. If the whole road was closed, we'd all be off. 

Now, I can only speak for the bus consortium I drove in, but where I currently live, the span is much larger. Peterborough County. Many back roads, many secondary roads. 

Are they quicker to cancel buses now than when we were kids? Yes.. However... There's things you need to consider that go into those cancellations. Again, I'll use where I drove, Peterborough.. Peterborough City might be ok, but Apsley and the area surrounding could be icy and heavy snowfall. Going towards Lake Ontario could have its own little snow belt that's wreaking havoc. In those areas, there's many dirt roads that are the absolute last priority. 

We just saw recently in Ontario, two instances this week of a bus sliding off the road into the ditch. There were injuries on one of the buses. I'm not sure of the other. 

Now. What's changed? There are many factors, but I'll cover a few of them.. 

One: The way the roads were cleared and the criteria to send out the plows has changed. I'm trying to recall, but I believe the Province was responsible for the removal of snow on the highways. They would be out fairly quickly. Then it got moved to the municipalities, who already did removal for their town/city. Because some of the highway plowing was privatized, the plows are slower to get out. 

Two: Accidents. Now, the 90s being the 90s and the earlier eras being as they were, bus crashes weren't as exposed as they are now with the internet and social media. It doesn't mean accidents didn't happen. I'm sure there were. But to avoid accidents, the consortiums began looking more into forecasts. And while forecasts can be as predictable as a toddler throwing a tantrum, they are better than thinking it's a great day only to be snowed in by noon. 

Third: Everybody is Sue-Happy. I can almost guarantee those parents and people who complain about the number of snow days now will be the first to scream about suing should little Johnny or Tina get injured or worse because of a crash from road conditions. 

Honestly, if your kid was in an accident on the bus that could have been prevented, would you shrug and say "Oh well.. It's Canada" like you snarkily say when the buses are cancelled?