School bus safety and emergency procedures

Keeping students and bus drivers safe is a shared responsibility. We work with Standard Bus, school communities and the RCMP to manage risks along Yukon bus routes.

Emergency procedures

• In an emergency, our first priority is to ensure the safety of students.
• If an emergency happens, government staff and Standard Bus will coordinate an immediate response.
• We keep phone numbers for who parents would like us to call in case of an emergency. In the case of an emergency, we'll use these to share timely information with parents.

Cold weather safety

• Ensure your children are dressed warmly to travel to school in the winter.
• Buses may be late or be cancelled if road conditions are unsafe for a school bus.
• If delays are expected, do not leave your child alone at the bus stop. Wait with them until the bus arrives.
• When buses are late or cancelled in Whitehorse parents or guardians may be informed in 3 ways:
  1. Checking My School Bus Monitor.
  2. Local radio if there are widespread cancellations.
  3. Standard Bus social media.
• Outside Whitehorse, Standard Bus contacts the schools, and the schools inform parents.

School busing notifications if late or cancelled 

Parents or guardians may be informed of delays or cancellations in 3 ways:

1. Checking My School Bus Monitor.
2. Local radio if there are widespread cancellations.
3. Standard Bus social media. 

To view My School Bus Monitor updates 

To view updates online visit myschoolbusmonitor.ca and search ‘Whitehorse’ or ‘Yukon’ to see if there are any school bus delays for that day.

Remember you must register at the start of every school year even if your bus number is the same.

Personal information is collected by Standard Bus under contractual agreement with the Department of Education to communicate delays or cancellations, and under the authority of the Access to Information and Protection of Privacy Act s.15(a) and (c)(i) and the Education Act. Registration to this service is optional.

For more information contact Standard Bus Operations at 867-456-3210 or email [email protected].

Local radio updates

The Department of Education informs local radio stations, if there’s widespread impacts or cancellation of school buses. We inform: 

• CBC
• CHON FM
• CKRW

We do not issue notifications through local radio for delays or cancellations of individual routes. Parents and guardians should check My School Bus Monitor updates from Standard Bus. 

Standard Bus Social Media

Standard Bus provides cancellation updates on their social media account.

How to report safety concerns

• Report unsafe driving around a school bus to the RCMP.
• If you have concerns, we'll work together to address the issue and answer your questions.
• Contact our Student Transportation Unit by email [email protected].
• Contact Standard Bus Yukon at 867-456-3210.
• You can also contact your child's school.
• We'll review any incidents to consider whether we need to make any changes to protect health and safety.

National safety standards

• We work with Standard Bus to ensure school buses meet all national safety standards.
• We have agreed to take part in Transport Canada’s assessment of seat belt safety on school buses.