'The bus needs to stop here:' Mount Hope school bus stop reinstated after parental furor

Hamilton-Wentworth Student Transportation Services has reversed an earlier decision to eliminate a Mount Hope school bus stop that picks up and drops off students outside Kinderseeds Educational Child Care Centre.

There's always been a stop there but this year they removed it for both school boards, leaving parents of about 30 kids who attend before and after care without a bus stop," said Rachel Roy, adding that she was told her five-year-old would need to walk from Kinderseeds along Airport Road, down Homestead Drive to Longview Drive to catch the bus at the nearest stop.

The staff at Kinderseeds can't leave the other children under-supervised to walk kids to various stops, and were given no warning that the stops would be eliminated."

Roy said that trying to get answers from the transportation company was difficult, with the only point of access being a call centre and with her file being closed several times without calling her back. Roy spoke with her school trustee and the bus company involved, and on the Thursday before school was to start, learned the stop had been reinstated.

Owner for Kinderseeds, Sherri Crechiola, said that she was grateful to have the bus stop back.

It's not something I could ask for, it had to come from the parents," she said. It was stressful for them, you need to know your child is going to get to school and back safely. That stress can pass to the child, so this stop being returned is such a good thing for the kids."

Crechiola expressed sympathy for Hamilton Wentworth Student Transportation Services, saying that short-staffing was presenting challenges for the company.

Hamilton Wentworth Student Transportation Services did not respond to the Gazette's request for comment, but its website stated that the burden was on the parent and guardian to see about transportation.

Responsibility for getting to and from school rests primarily with the student and parents or guardians," read the service statement. The Education Act states that a board may provide transportation for pupils enrolled in schools operated by the board ... Transportation to and from school provided to students is a privilege and not a right."

STORY BEHIND THE STORY: When we heard that a Mount Hope school bus stop had been removed, we asked what impact it would have on the community.