Eligibility for School Bus Service

Eligibility for 2025-2026 School Year:

RDCRS implements the following distance criteria where we have capacity.

Alberta Education's eligibility rules for partially funded riders are:

Kindergarten - Grade 6 residing 1.0 km or more from home to catchment school
Grades 7 - 12 residing 2.0 km or more from home to catchment school

Alberta Education has extended the mandatory implementation of the new eligibility distances to September 2025. The rate of compliance will be determined by the availability of additional buses to the fleet as well as additional full-time bus drivers available for hire.

Online registration opens April 15, 2025.

Transportation Eligibility Criteria for 2025-2026 School Year:

Below is a summary of criteria for transportation eligibility and the fees that will be applied to those choosing non-catchment school options. Note: École Camille J. Lerouge is the catchment school for French Immersion students within Red Deer and is not considered a school of choice.

High School Students - If your child was attending École Mother Teresa School and/or École Camille J. Lerouge for French Immersion and has transferred to École Secondaire Notre Dame High School for completing French Immersion, this is your catchment school and is not considered a school of choice.

Students in Kindergarten up to Grade 6 residing 1.0 km or more from their catchment school and attending their catchment school will have no transportation fee.
Students in Grades 7-12 residing 2.0 km or more from their catchment school and attending their catchment school will have no transportation fee.
Students in Grades 7-9 residing 1.0 km to 2.0 km from their catchment school and attending their catchment school can access transportation if routing and space are available but will be assigned a $300 fee per student per year.
If your child has been referred by the division to attend an out of catchment, congregated program due to their educational needs, transportation will be provided at no cost. However, if the specialized programming is available at your catchment school, transportation will be provided based on the regular distance eligibility guidelines.
Students residing within the City of Red Deer who choose to attend St. Patrick’s Community School or St. Martin de Porres School as a school of choice (and do not reside within the designated catchment area for these schools) will be required to pay a transportation fee of $300.00 per student, per school year.
If a student lives in the St. Patrick’s Community School catchment and is accepted at St. Teresa of Avila School or St. Lorenzo Ruiz Middle School, to enroll in a traditional calendar, a $300 fee per student per year will be assigned if busing is available.
Students attending Ball Academy (who do not reside in the St. Thomas Aquinas Middle School or St. Joseph High School catchment) or Hockey Academy (who do not reside in the École Secondaire Notre Dame High School catchment) will be assigned a fee of $300.00 per student per year or the cost of applicable city transit pass. Only if transportation is available.
Rural students who are not attending their catchment school may access transportation only if space and routing are available. If approved, a transportation fee of $300.00 per student, per school year will apply.

Please note that transportation availability is subject to change each year based on student registrations, routing logistics, and other factors.

Students utilizing a secondary approved bus stop on a different route will be assigned a fee of $150.00 per student per year for yellow bus service (or applicable city transit pass cost) per student. This fee will be non-refundable. A family maximum does not apply with this fee.
Students will be charged a $50.00 per student late registration fee if they register for transportation after June 13, 2025. The late fee is non-waivable and non-refundable. A family maximum does not apply with this fee.
Any Out-of-Boundary students that are meeting a bus will be assigned a fee of $300 per student per year.
Out-of-Boundary students who have been accepted at a Red Deer Catholic school must meet an existing stop on an established bus route. No new stops will be created. Transportation is only provided if there is available space on the bus and existing service can accommodate the student.
Students whose primary residence is located less than 1 kilometre from their catchment school are not eligible for transportation services. This applies even if transportation has previously been accessed using a secondary address (such as a dayhome) located outside of the 1 kilometre boundary.

However, if a student resides part-time at an alternate address within the school's catchment area — and that address meets the eligibility distance requirements — transportation may be provided from that location if space and routing are available. In these cases, an annual transportation fee of $300 per student will apply.

Rural Out of Catchment Transportation for 2025-2026 School Year:

In previous years, RDCRS has utilized transfer sites to assist in providing transportation services to students attending schools outside of their catchment area. In some cases, this has required the addition of extra bus routes from transfer sites to accommodate out-of-boundary students.

However, due to the funding parameters established by Alberta Education, RDCRS is no longer able to sustain this level of service.

Moving forward, any student attending a non-catchment school may submit a request for transportation; however, these requests will be evaluated individually on a case-by-case basis and reviewed annually. If accommodating the request negatively impacts regular routing — such as requiring the addition of new routes — the request will be denied. In these cases, students will be required to return to their catchment school, or parents will need to arrange their own transportation outside of RDCRS services.

This applies to all out-of-boundary students, including those attending Schools of Choice (St. Patrick’s Community School and St. Martin de Porres School) as well as those enrolled in Sports Academy Programs.

Where RDCRS is able to provide transportation through existing transfer sites, out-of-boundary transportation fees will apply. Please note that this service is not guaranteed beyond the current school year and is dependent on space, routing availability, and operational capacity.

If you have any questions in this regard or would like to discuss your own situation with our Transportation Department, please contact us at 403-309-8801 or at transportationinfo@rdcrs.ca

Bus Information:

Red Deer Catholic Regional Schools (RDCRS) is pleased to provide students with a variety of transportation services.

Students Must Register for Busing Each Year:

All students are required to register online for transportation each school year. Registration deadlines are required to avoid late fees per student and possible delay of service. These deadlines are communicated on the Division website, schools websites, swiftreach, social media, paid advertising, bus status app and notes home from the bus driver.

Important Transportation Update - Effective October 1st, 2024
Transportation funding is no longer available for late registrations. Therefore as these requests are processed throughout the school year, fees that are assessed will not be prorated.

Calculating Distance Eligibility:

Red Deer Catholic Regional Schools (RDCRS) establishes catchment schools for each area of the city. Eligibility for transportation service is determined by the distance from a student's primary place of residence to their catchment school. Students can only have one primary residence for government eligibility purposes. Guidelines for determining these distances are established by Alberta Education. RDCRS uses a program called Bus Planner to calculate routes and distances. Although there are other ways to calculate distances online, RDCRS will always refer to our government-approved software if there are any discrepancies.

Eligibility is calculated using the shortest driving route.

Kindergarten:

Kindergarten students are required to attend their catchment school or a school/program of choice.

Pre-Kindergarten:

Students attending the Pre-Kindergarten programs pose some unique challenges with regards to busing. Due to the physical size of the students and the safety concern of safely loading and unloading of students, RDCRS recommends the parents drive children to and from school. Requested fees may apply, as well as a "Bus Test" must be completed at the school of attendance prior to the service being offered.

The Alberta Education Transportation Grant will be partially made available to parents of eligible (non-community placement) Pre K students residing 1 km or more from the catchment school. Please contact your school principal to discuss further. The Alberta Education Transportation Grant application forms will be provided by the school at the end of September and must be returned signed and dated prior to the middle of October.

Ineligible students:

Students who are non-funded (ineligible) for transportation residing less than 1 km from their catchment school will not have access to transportation. The school division does not receive transportation funding for ineligible students.

Please call the school for information pertaining to eligibility when attending an alternative program. If your question remains unanswered, please contact the RDCRS Transportation Department at transportationinfo@rdcrs.ca or by calling 403-309-8801.

Please Note: Only students who are registered for transportation services are permitted to ride the school bus. Non-registered students will not be allowed to access transportation for purposes such as visiting a friend’s home after school.

Registered bus students are required to ride only their assigned routes and must board and disembark at their designated stop.

RDCRS no longer accepts written notes, phone calls, or text messages requesting temporary changes to bus arrangements, including requests to ride home with friends.

Examples:

As a St Francis of Assisi School catchment student in grade 6 and you live over the 1km distance to St Francis of Assisi middle school. You are eligible and have no fee. See next bullet if there are siblings at the same school in Grade 7-9. Eligibility is different. Fees may apply.
As a St. Francis of Assisi School catchment student In Grade 7-9 and you live under the distance of 2.0 km to St. Francis of Assisi Middle School and there is a bus available for your address, you are subject to a transportation fee of $300.00/year for busing. If you live further than 2.0 km away from St. Francis of Assisi Middle School, you are eligible.
Bus service is not available to ANY students who live less than 1 km from their catchment school.

Day Home Transportation Policy

Please note that our transportation services do not accommodate the addition of bus stops specifically for day homes. If a student meets the eligibility criteria for transportation, they will be registered for the closest existing bus stop to the primary residence and the closest existing bus stop to the approved secondary stop. designated location.

We encourage parents and guardians to plan accordingly, utilizing the nearest available stop for their child's transportation needs.

School of Choice Definition

Updated Eligibility:

Due to the new eligibility guidelines set by Alberta Education, Transportation Service has been modified for our partially funded students.

Please review the School Catchment Maps

Red Deer Catholic School of Choice Options in our division are St. Patrick Community School - Year Round, and St. Martin de Porres School - Fine Arts. Busing will be provided city wide to these schools for a fee. Rural busing may be provided if we have a bus available. Subject to change year to year.

Kindergarten to Grade 6: 1 km or more

Gr 7 to Gr 9: 2 km or more

As a St. Patrick’s Community school catchment student in Grade 7-9 and you live under the distance of 2.0 km to your catchment school and there is a bus available for your address, you are subject to a transportation fee of $300.00/year for busing. If you live further than 2.0 km away from St. Patrick’s Community school, you are eligible.

School Bus (yellow) Routes:

Bus stop locations are determined by the number of eligible students registered to use the service.
We try our best not to relocate bus stops; however, it may happen from time to time.
RDCRS has an expectation that no bus stop will be further than 500 meters (0.5 km) for students in Pre-Kindergarten to Grade 5 from a residence for eligible students. This does not apply to ineligible students as they may have to utilize the closest available stop.
Eligible students in Grades 6-12 could be expected to have a walk distance to their bus stop between 500 meters to 800 meters (0.5 km - 0.8 km).
Buses will not be rerouted and stops will typically not be added for ineligible students.
Bus stops are only created in residential areas.
Commercial, retail, or office building areas will not be considered for a stop due to safety concerns. We try to keep buses out of crescents and closes due to safety reasons and ease of access as much as possible.

For confirmation or additional information on transportation, please review our Transportation Frequently Asked Questions. If your questions still remain unanswered, please contact the Transportation Department at transportationinfo@rdcrs.ca or by calling 403-309-8801.