Applications for student transportation for the 2025-2026 will be available soon. Parents and guardians will be notified once they are available.
Transportation Fees
Due to rising transportation costs and the fact that provincial funding has not kept pace with the full cost of providing student transportation services in rural Alberta, Northern Lights Public Schools has implemented a $140 ridership fee for the 2025-2026 school year for all students who access student transportation services.
Fees are also charged for students who are ineligible for transportation funding in the communities of Bonnyville, Cold Lake and Lac La Biche. These are students in Kindergarten to Grades 6 who live within 1.0 km of their designated school, and students in grades 7-12 who live within 2.0 km of their designated school. Please note that in-town routes are subject to availability of bus contractors and drivers and students may be placed on a waiting list until space becomes available on an established route.
A fee will also be charged for any student who requires a seat on an second (alternate) route, unless it is required to comply with a custody agreement. The fee for this service for 2025-2026 is $500. Alternate route seats will only be provided if space is available on the alternate route and will be capped at one alternate seat per student.
For the 2025-2026 school year, fees will be charged as follows:
|
Fee |
Grade Level |
Distance from Designated School |
Fee (per year) |
|
Ridership Fee |
All Students |
Not applicable |
$140 (capped at a maximum of $420 per household) |
|
In-Town Transportation Fee |
Kindergarten to Grade 6 |
Less than 1.0 kilometres |
$500 |
|
In-Town Transportation Fee |
Grades 7-12 |
Less than 2.0 kilometres |
$750 |
|
Alternate Route Fee |
All Students |
Not Applicable |
$500 |
Where fees are applicable, registration will not be considered complete until fees are paid in full or a payment plan is set up in School Cash Online. Fees to in-town busing are payable in up to four installments. January 1st will be the final installment date available. An automatic $26 non-payment charge will be added to your School Cash Online account if payment is rejected. If all non-payment charges and rejected payments are not received by January 31, the parent/guardian will be asked to withdraw their child(ren) from riding the bus.
Bus fee refunds will be applied in the following circumstances:
- bus services are not available for a period exceeding two consecutive weeks (excluding holidays included on the NLPS calendar)
- there is a Division required school closure that exceeds two consecutive weeks (excluding holidays included on the NLPS calendar)
- the student riding the bus changes schools and does not require transportation to/from the new location
- the student moves and fees are not applicable at their new location
- the student moves out of district.
In the event a student is moving or changing schools, please inform NLPS Transportation as soon as possible.
Our Student Transportation Guide outlines the responsibilities of students, bus drivers and parents, as well as general information about our busing service. Please view the guide or our Frequently Asked Questions for answers about the following: birthday parties and sleepovers; channels of communication; in-town busing information; school of choice information; and inclement weather information. Ensure that you read the brochure carefully and contact us if you have any questions.
Additional information is included in our Transportation Policy.