Can I Ride The School Bus?

By RCJTC Team - Dec 15, 2025

Whether your child can ride the school bus is determined by your postal address and the school that your child attends or is looking to attend. The school's attendance boundaries and the distance of your child's home from their school also impact transportation eligibility.

School Boundaries

School attendance boundaries are created by our partner school boards to designate where pupils should attend their primary and secondary schooling. School attendance boundaries are necessary to create school communities that are appropriately sized for the capacity of each school facility and to accommodate sustainable student enrolment as determined by the school board.

Maximum Walk Distances

As outlined in the Transportation and Eligibility Policy, the distance of a child's address from their school is one criterion that helps to determine if a child is eligible for transportation. The maximum walk distances between a child's address and their school are listed in Table 1 below for your reference.

Table 1: Maximum Walk Distances (By Grade)
Grade	Distance (in kilometres)	Distance (in miles)
Junior Kindergarten (JK) and Senior Kindergarten (SK)	500 metres (0.5km)	0.3 miles
Grades 1-6	1.6 kilometres	1 mile
Grades 7-12 (Rural)	1.6 kilometres	1 mile
Grades 7-12 (Urban/Developed)	2.5 kilometres	1.55 miles

Eligibility for Transportation

Transportation eligibility depends on your school's attendance boundaries as well as the distance from your property to the school. Eligibility can be determined using the "Can I Ride The Bus?" tool; however, the example scenarios described below also provide a helpful overview of transportation eligibility.

Located Within School Boundaries but Outside of Maximum Walk Distance (Eligible)

You are eligible to receive transportation services to and from your designated school if you reside within the school's boundary or you utilize a sitter that is within the school's boundary.

If you move outside of the school boundary or cease to use an in-zone sitter, your eligibility may be impacted. Please consider with the RCJTC Team or your child's school where unsure.

Located Within Walk Distance From School (Eligible by Application)

Students who are located within the maximum walk distance outlined in the Transportation and Eligibility Policy are not eligible for transportation to and from school unless they apply for a temporary seat and are approved using the Temporary Seat Application Form.

A temporary seat is an open seat on an existing route that can be accessed by ineligible students, subject to established the criteria as outlined below. Temporary seat assignments are made on a school year basis and they are set with an end date. Temporary seats are assigned in this manner as the availability of transportation may change from year to year depending on the enrollment of eligible students and assignment of bus stops within your area.

Therefore, temporary seats are assigned on a case-by-case basis and applications must meet the following criteria to be approved:

A seat is available on the existing bus;
An existing bus stop already exists; and,
There are no additional costs.

Located Outside School Boundaries (Ineligible)

You are not eligible to receive transportation services to and from school as you do not reside within the school attendance boundary of your selected school. It is the families' responsibility to provide transportation to and from school in these circumstances.

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RCJTC Parent Portal

Sign up for an RCJTC Parent Portal account where families can view their students' transportation assignments (including Route IDs, bus stop locations and pick-up/drop-off times).

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Renfrew County Joint Transportation Consortium
999 Cecelia Street
Pembroke, ON K8B 1A4

Phone: 613-732-8419
Toll Free: 1-888-732-8419
Email RCJTC