School bus service has returned to the remote Yukon community of Pelly Crossing. This significant achievement is a result of a friendship between a teacher in the community and a dispatcher with Standard Bus Contracting in Whitehorse.

Pelly Crossing is a small community of about 320 people three hours north of Whitehorse. The community has struggled to attract and retain a permanent driver for Eliza Van Bibber school for a few years, leaving the student without consistent busing.

Standard Bus Dispatcher Kim Solonick searched desperately for ideas to attract drivers. Eventually, an idea hit her, and she made a call that changed everything. She contacted her friend Yvonne Curic, a teacher at the school.

Yvonne and Kim have been friends for years. In addition to her work at Standard, Kim is an Airbnb host in Whitehorse. Yvonne, a frequent guest, stays with Kim when she visits friends in the city.  So, she wasn’t surprised to receive a call from Kim one summer day, but she was a bit taken aback by Kim’s question.

“Would you consider driving a school bus for us?” she asked her friend.

Yvonne thought back to the challenges posed by a lack of drivers. “Students would miss out on field trips,” she says. Some students would have no way of getting to school. “This also affected [overall] attendance.”

Immediately, Yvonne saw the possibilities the request offered.

“There weren’t any other applicants,” says Yvonne. “I didn’t want my students to miss out on another year of no rides to school and no trips, so I told Kim I would do it.”

As she completed her training, Yvonne also convinced fellow teacher David Gillis to apply. Both completed training and licensing and today, Yvonne is the school’s permanent driver while David acts as the spare. “It always feels great to help out. I only had my student’s interests in mind when I decided,” says Yvonne.

Having teachers double as school bus drivers has made a big difference at the school, says Principal Mary Shkimba.

“The community is very grateful to have the bus back in the community, and I applaud the initiative of our two teachers who obtained their licenses to aid the school community and the students.”

 Overall, Yvonne is happy with her decision to drive for Standard Bus and support her students.

“I think it’s a great idea to have teachers with their Class 2 and Class 4 in rural communities to help drive the kids around. I would encourage teachers across the Territory to look into doing the same for their communities!”

Yvonne Curic with teacher and Standard Bus school bus driver David Gillis. 

Operation Empowering Youth is a collaboration between the Calgary Police Youth Foundation, the Calgary Police Service and CF Market Mall. In all, 50 students got help with their Christmas shopping from some of Calgary’s Finest – all in an effort to foster relationships between kids and officers.

SOUTHLAND Transportation was proud to donate our services to transport these students to Market Mall for a fun day of shopping! The kids were each given a $200 gift card that they could spend on themselves or their families. Area Manager of Safety & Training Sarah McIntyre has driven the bus for this event in prior years and she says participating in community initiatives demonstrates how  SOUTHLAND can really make a difference.

“It creates a sense of pride within my team knowing that this is an event we have taken on in the past, have it run smoothly, and know it makes a difference in these student’s lives. As well. it’s important to maintain a working partnership with CPS.”

The hope is that the selected students, who were nominated by local schools, would be able to have an open conversation with officers about staying safe. Event organizer Claire Enzie thanked SOUTHLAND for our continued support.

“We are thrilled to share that the event was a resounding success, with 50 children going home not only with gifts for themselves and their families but also with memories that will last a lifetime. We could not have made this happen without the transportation support that you provided. Your team made it possible for us to get the children to the event safely and on time, and for that, we are deeply grateful.”

To learn more about this story, CLICK HERE.

Today, Diversified Transportation was recognized by the Canadian Mental Health Association Wood Buffalo as a Mental Health Champion. 

A huge thank you to Sherry McDonald, our HCM advisor who was not only on hand to receive this award but who spearheaded this initiative within our workplace and became a true ambassador. 

Sherry was instrumental in bringing awareness to issues many struggle in silence with by bringing various workshops and seminars to our employees.

Thank you, Sherry, for your amazing work!

As we enter the final few weeks of the Fall Raise the Bar season, we’re giving everyone an up-close-and-personal look into these informative, interactive feedback sessions!

For those of you who aren’t familiar with Raise the Bar, the goal is to understand what is working well at PWT, what needs to improve, and provide everyone with the chance to come together to Raise the Bar. We want to enhance job satisfaction and exceed customer expectations while meeting two of our Strategic Goals: The Employer of Choice and The Service Provider of Choice. 

Last month, we sent the CCoE‘s resident roving reporter Shadi Swaidan to cover a recent Southland Calgary RTB session. 

Click the fun video below to tag along with Shadi and find out what to expect when you attend!

On October 17th, Cold Lake Bus Lines drivers participated in an important safety exercise—an annual bus evacuation drill. The drill, organized by Ecole Voyageur and Cold Lake Bus Lines, was an invaluable experience for both drivers and students, ensuring that everyone is prepared in case of an emergency.

Both drivers and students watched an instructional video that demonstrated proper evacuation procedures, then a day was selected for the drivers to stay behind after morning drop off.

Once the students returned to the bus in groups, drivers, along with a supervising teacher, walked through the protocol one more time, ensuring everyone understood the process. Then, they executed the drill, practicing safe and orderly evacuations under the guidance of the drivers.

Ecole Voyageur has five runs, all supplied by Cold Lake Bus Lines. Drills like this one are critical, as they provide an opportunity for drivers and students alike to review and practice essential safety procedures. This hands-on experience helps everyone feel more confident and prepared to act in an emergency.

Safety is always a team effort, and we commend both the drivers and students for their participation in this essential exercise.

On September 30th, Diversified Transportation successfully concluded the Hoodie Drive, an initiative in partnership with Homeless Connect Wood Buffalo. This project was dedicated to collecting new or gently used winter coats and hoodies for the homeless and at-risk populations within our community.

Once again, our incredible community has shown its generosity, stepping up to support those in need. Thanks to your overwhelming contributions, we are thrilled to announce that we collected 9 large boxes of hoodies and coats. These much-needed items were delivered by our Director of Operations, Dean Chappelle, on Friday, October 4th.

Thank you so very much to all who contributed to help keep our at risk population warm!