Students who take the bus to school could be paying a lot more next year.
The Calgary Board of Education is proposing a 60 percent increase in school bus fees starting September 1, 2011.
That means students who paid $200 this year could be paying $335 next year.
The family maximum would go from $400 to $670 per year.
"It's tough because we don't have a choice to take the bus," says parent, Lindsay Hayden. "My son goes to French immersion because we wanted a French language program and we're forced to take the bus."
The board says the fee increase will attempt to close an estimated $8.8 million gap between actual transportation costs and funding.
They say they will get $400,000 less from the provincial government, and are also factoring in a 10 percent increase in fuel costs while maintaining the same service.
"I think we are very concerned that fees are increasing. We certainly did not go about this wanting to see increased financial hardship to families," says Calvin Davies, Calgary Board of Education.
He says that the board is looking at cutting one position in transportation, eliminating bus routes, and using larger congregated bus stops to help minimize user fees.
