School bus drivers travel approximately 250,000 kilometres each day, ensuring that more than 70,000 students around the province get to and from school safely.  Each year, this ends up being more than 46 million kilometres travelled!

“This is a great opportunity to thank your local school bus drivers for their commitment to students in the community,” Deputy Premier and Education Minister Gordon Wyant said.  “The safety of students in the province is a top priority for the Government of Saskatchewan and school bus drivers play an extremely important role in that.”

The Saskatchewan School Boards Association (SSBA) represents locally elected school boards across the province and provides advocacy, services and board development.

“School boards recognize and appreciate the important work that is done by bus drivers and the dedicated service they provide to the children and youth in our school systems and we thank them,” SSBA President Shawn Davidson said.  “Bus drivers are a vital part of our education sector.”

The Student Transportation Association of Saskatchewan (STAS) represents individuals who drive students to and from school on behalf of Saskatchewan school divisions.  The association promotes safety and efficiency in student transportation services in the province.

“As we know, the bus driver has the most important job in transporting the most precious of cargo, our children,” STAS President Trish Anderson said.  “We will continue to provide any training and assistance we can to support our drivers across the province and make their job easier, and work with other provinces to get the highest level of training we can possibly provide.  Thank you to all the drivers out there for doing the very best at a very difficult job!”

School Bus Driver Appreciation Day has been celebrated in Saskatchewan for the past 10 years as part of Education Week.  This year’s theme Working and Learning Together recognizes the contributions of all staff members contributing to the success of Saskatchewan students.