/R E P E A T -- 825,000 children protected every day/

TORONTO, Oct. 14, 2014 /CNW/ - Ontario's 20,000 professional school bus drivers safeguard over 825,000 kids to and from school every day.  Hundreds of thousands of parents depend on this essential service to arrive at their homes, on time, 5 days a week, 10 months of the year. As their guardians of safety, school bus drivers are dedicated to transporting our children, reliably, securely, and ready to learn.

October 20-24, 2014 is School Bus Safety Week, an active and evolving public education program for everyone - parents, students, teachers, motorists, school bus operators, school administrators, and other interested parties - to join forces and address the importance of school bus safety.  We're asking motorists to take special care and caution around yellow school buses to assist with the ongoing commitment of keeping all children safe.

Wednesday, October 22, 2014 is School Bus Driver Appreciation Day.  Please show your support and appreciation for our professional school bus drivers with a simple wave, a thank you or maybe even a cup of coffee. This is a tremendous responsibility they embrace for ensuring that children remain protected and out of harm's way.

The Ontario School Bus Association (OSBA) is a non-profit association providing advocacy and education services for the owners of school bus companies and school boards and transportation consortia across Ontario for over 60 years.  OSBA is the authoritative voice on student transportation in Ontario, fostering partnerships with parents, schools, government, school boards and transportation consortia by addressing industry issues vital to all.  OSBA's vision of safe and sustainable student transportation is built on the wealth of experience and the professional approach of OSBA, whose member companies and professional drivers are supported through a variety of training programs.  The school bus industry maintains the highest safety record as substantiated by Transport Canada.

SOURCE: Ontario School Bus Association

Michele O'Bright, Association Director, Ontario School Bus Association (OSBA), Tel. [phone] Ext. 3, Cell 416.432.2975, Email: [email protected], www.osba.on.ca