Second bus survey coming this fall

New Westminster Secondary School students who live in Queensborough will get a second chance to provide feedback about a bus service from the ’Boro to the high school.

In February, the school district sent Queensborough families with kids attending New Westminster Secondary School or in Grade 8 at Queensborough Middle School surveys, asking them if they’d be interested in a paid bus service to and from the high school, which is located at Eighth Avenue and Eighth Street near Moody Park.

Of the 247 surveys sent out, only 47 were returned to the district, and the overwhelming response was that while families were interested in a bus service, they weren’t interested in paying more than $52, the current price of a TransLink concession pass.

A subsequent report by district staff concluded that a bus service from Queensborough would require a significant investment by the school district – one it wasn’t financially able to make.

Trustee Mary Lalji, who has championed the idea of implementing a bus service for ’Boro students, criticized the district’s handling of the surveys. She said the surveys should have been sent out in multiple languages to accommodate non-English speaking families in the neighbourhood.

At the June 27 school board meeting, Lalji made a motion to have the district redo the survey, this time following a criteria that requires the surveys be available in multiple languages and at different locations, including schools, the district office and online. The new survey is intended to gauge overall interest in the service instead of interest based on cost.  

“I think it’s OK to ask if there’s interest, and if there is no interest, then we move on, but right now we really don’t know,” Lalji said.

While trustees supported the motion, many were concerned about the false expectations a new survey would give families, especially when costs won’t be mentioned.

But trustee Mark Gifford said the district would have to deal “with the consequences of raising expectations” after the survey is complete. The board needs to move forward on this issue, he added.

The survey is expected to be distributed and posted online in the fall after trustees have had a chance to review it.