Transport Canada is mandating perimeter cameras on school buses, including in Simcoe County, to allow bus drivers to see more areas around the bus.
While the new law will take a while to affect change, local school bus consortiums and school boards are still wondering what, if any, changes need to be made to the local fleet.
In a news release sent out on Feb. 3, Transport Canada says “perimeter visibility systems” are required to be installed on all new school buses across the country built after Nov. 1, 2027.
The visibility systems, a series of cameras installed outside a bus, will show if there is anyone around the bus before driving. Drivers will have a device mounted on the dash which will display real-time images.
“This technology offers enhanced visibility beyond what mirrors alone can provide,” Transport Canada said in a news release.
“With this new regulation, Canada becomes the first country in the world to require new school buses to be fitted with this technology.”
School bus photo radar was also part of the Transport Canada announcement. It introduced requirements necessary to install infraction cameras for manufacturers who want to install them voluntarily.
The federal agency stopped short of mandating the cameras, being used to capture photos of licence plates of vehicles passing a school bus illegally.
In Simcoe County, school buses for both the Simcoe County District School Board and the Simcoe Muskoka Catholic District School Board are organized through the Simcoe County Student Transportation Consortium.
The consortium provides transportation for approximately 36,000 students enrolled in 150 public and Catholic schools, and contract more than 720 school vehicles to provide home-to-school transportation in Simcoe County.
“The only update I can share right now is that we are currently reviewing the announcement to analyze the impact on student transportation in Simcoe County,” said Kim Malkamaki, consortium CEO, in an email.
Controller of transportation at the Simcoe Muskoka Catholic board Allen Morrison said the board was supportive of measures that will make school vehicles safer.
“Transportation funding continues to be a concern and so the approach of making it a requirement when new vehicles are built and putting the onus on manufacturers is a more cost-effective and realistic way to make a change like this," he said in an email.
In response to questions about funding for the change, a spokesperson for Transport Canada said no new funding is being provided in association with the new regulation.
The Simcoe County District School Board and Landmark did not respond to a request for comment for this story by publication time.
According to Collingwood/Blue Mountains OPP, Collingwood had three collisions where a school bus was involved in 2024, however no injuries were reported. One collision resulted in charges. Huronia West had five collisions where a school bus was involved in 2024, one was with injuries. Three of those collisions resulted in charges.
“Video evidence of any kind is valuable for our investigations of collisions and traffic violations. Students are our future and a valuable part of our community,” said Collingwood OPP media officer Sgt. Wesley Staddon in an email.
- With files from Mark Pare, EloraFergusToday.