Message from the ASTSBC

The Association of School Transportation Services of British Columbia (ASTSBC) is proud to be contributing to the EFMA’s Ops Talk magazine. The work our ASTSBC members do in school districts is a very integral part of operations, and many of us are members of both organizations. Last year at this time we made you aware of an initiative we had undertaken. We developed a partnership with the Ministry of Education in setting up a school bus purchase program in the province of B.C. The program was a huge success, and garnered competitive pricing for everyone in B.C. purchasing new school buses. This program was offered to anyone transporting school children in B.C. including our private contractors, independent schools and band schools. At the time of writing this article, we are mid-way through this process again and have tweaked things to improve and streamline the process for all involved. We are excited to see the new outcomes of this program and the benefits it will provide our members as we lead by example in shared services. All going as planned, we will be able to start purchasing in mid-November. As many of you know, we have an ongoing relationship with the Motor Carrier Passenger Council of Canada (MCPCC). The structure under which they operate has changed slightly as a result of the new direction of our federal government, and it is much more project-based. We have recently partnered with them in a new Labour Market Initiative (LMI) to provide more online training to our professional bus operators across the province. This new LMI, along with the other tools available to any of us, can be accessed free-of-charge at www.buscouncil.ca. The new CSA D-250 2012 has just passed final ballot and will take effect on all buses being produced and sold in Canada sometime in April 2013. The ASTSBC has two representatives on this committee, which does a great job representing the interests and safety standards of B.C. It will, however, have a large impact in B.C. once it comes into effect, as major changes have occurred for the construction of handicap buses. The new standard is going to reduce capacity of our new handicap buses by almost one-third by improving safety for our wheelchair-bound students. Although this may come as a shock, or appear problematic in the future, rest assured our association has been keeping our members and Ministry staff informed every step of the way, and will continue to do so. This coming July, we will be hosting our 48th annual conference and tradeshow in the Lower Mainland. This year we are going to provide some advanced engine and transmission sessions for our technicians; these in-depth sessions will show beneficial tools to our delegates to streamline their operations, and will offer a means to gather valuable statistical data that will provide many good meaning tolls in the future. I am very proud of this industry in B.C., and the positive impact we place on student outcomes. I look forward to serving as interim president until our next AGM in July 2013.

Frank Marasco, CDPT ASTSBC interim and past president

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