Transportation

The Ottawa Student Transportation Authority (OSTA) is responsible for all home to school transportation on behalf of the Ottawa-Carleton District School Board (OCDSB).

Bus cancellations due to inclement weather

Transportation cancellations are posted on OSTA's website by 6:15 am. Transportation is cancelled for all school buses, vans and taxis when OSTA makes the decision to cancel student transportation for the day.

Bus cancellations notifications

Subscribe to OSTA's mailing list. Email notifications can be sent directly to your handheld device or personal computer.

Check OSTA's website after 6:15 am for cancellations and delays

Listen to local radio stations (a select listing; updated periodically) after 6:15 am.

Follow OSTA on Twitter @OttSchoolBus 

When transportation is cancelled due to bad weather or poor road conditions, transportation is cancelled TO ALL SCHOOLS. All Schools remain open to students. If you bring your child to school, please arrange for transportation home.

Eligibility for yellow school bus transportation

Yellow school bus transportation is provided to students depending on their grade level and the distance from their home or caregiver to their designated school. Specified high school students with access to public transit (OC Transpo) will be provided with bus passes or tickets for the months of September to June.

Transportation is provided for students who reside (or caregiver resides) within the following distances from their school. Transportation will not be provided if the residential or caregiver address is less than the designated distance detailed below. Students attending schools outside of their regular attendance boundary will be responsible for their own transportation.

Junior & Senior Kindergarten - 0.8 km or more from their home school
Grades 1 through 8 - 1.6 km or more from their home school
Grades 9 through 12 - 3.2 km or more from their home school
Variable transportation for students with two homes

The Ottawa Student Transportation Authority (OSTA) will provide transportation services to students in a joint custody arrangement that have two homes – if both homes are within the attendance boundary and they are eligible for transportation. A formal application is required. Both parents and/or guardians must sign the application and provide a schedule. Read more about variable transportation.

Variable transportation for students with two homes

The Ottawa Student Transportation Authority (OSTA) will provide transportation services to students in a joint custody arrangement that have two homes – if both homes are within the attendance boundary and they are eligible for transportation. A formal application is required. Both parents and/or guardians must sign the application and provide a schedule. 
 Read more about variable transportation.

Applying for an empty seat on a bus
(This option is not available for the 2023-2024 school year, due to the driver shortage.)

If  there are empty seats available students may be provided transportation even though they reside in the designated walk zone. This only applies to already established school bus routes. School principals must authorize and assign empty seat requests for their students, after receiving a completed Empty Seat (Seat Availability) application form.
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