Transportation
Durham Student Transportation Services (DSTS) is responsible for ensuring safe and efficient transportation to and from school for eligible students in accordance with policy. Visit the DSTS website to view the Transportation Policy.
DSTS mTransport
Durham Student Transportation Services (DSTS) is excited to announce the implementation of new technology, mTransport on our large 70 passenger vehicles.
mTransport is a system designed to streamline communications between buses, the school and, parents/guardians. This system will replace the traditional paper-based manifest on buses with a tablet that will have an electronic version of student bus routes. Students will be issued a Transportation Card that the tablet software can read to register when and where they board a bus as well as when they disembark. This will help drivers better recognize riders and allow them to assist if someone attempts to board at the wrong stop or the wrong bus or get off a bus when they shouldn’t. This system will also ensure we have live and relevant data regarding bus passengers, which is critical information in the event of a bus incident or accident. For more information on the mTransport system, please visit https://www.dsts.on.ca/mtransport-info.
If you are missing your mTransport card or want to register your email address to use the mTransport mobile app, please follow this link.
Bus Cancellations and Delays
For bus cancellation and delay information, we encourage families to:
- Follow Durham Student Transportation Services on Twitter (@DSTS)
- Check the alerts on the DSTS website: https://www.dsts.on.ca/
- Families are encouraged to create an account for the DSTS Parent Portal, where they can subscribe to receive email alerts for their child(ren)’s bus route(s). Please note that parents and guardians will require their child(rens) Ontario Education Number (OEN) to subscribe.
- DSTS also has a 24-hour automated information phone line, available at 1-866-908-6578 or 905-666-6979. The DSTS main office line can be reached during business hours at 905-666-6395.
Inclement Weather Cancellations
Occasionally, transportation is cancelled due to weather conditions. Depending on the location and type of weather occurrence, transportation can be cancelled for a specific zone. Visit the DSTS website to determine your child's weather zone. When transportation is cancelled in the morning, it is cancelled for the entire day.
To connect to the DSTS automated phone line, call 1-866-908-6578 or 905-666-6979.
Additional Information on Cancellations Due to Inclement Weather
- Weather conditions can be variable within the large geographic areas across the GTA and the communities served by the Durham Catholic District School Board. Therefore, decisions may be specific to some or all areas of the board.
- Transportation decisions are not made lightly. They are made by both school boards, Durham Student Transportation Services (DSTS) and bus company representatives who consult with and collect information from municipal road maintenance crews and weather monitoring authorities.
- These decisions are made in the best interest of student safety, which includes making every effort to keep schools open for students.
- We aim to keep schools open as regularly as possible as we recognize the tremendous impact a school closure has on our families. Parents and guardians entrust schools to provide services for students.
- School closures also affect child care and family centres in our schools.
- As always, parents make the ultimate decision as to whether or not their children should attend school during inclement weather conditions.
- Student absence due to inclement weather will not negatively affect attendance records or academic assessments.