Safety is our #1 Priority in Carrying the Future
Parkview Transit is dedicated, above all else, to the safety of our student passengers, our employees, and the public with whom we share the road each day. Our approach to safety is based on behavior and results, while ensuring we meet or exceed regulations.
It is our belief that the principals embodied in our behavior-based approach to safety should be experienced by Parkview’s employees, customers, and most of all, our student passengers in the form of a common safety culture throughout our operations.
We perform regular safety audits at our facilities, reviewing and reinforcing safety policies and procedures with our team members. We implement secure platforms for our driver screening and compliance processes to evaluate candidates, and to ensure employee credentialing is always up-to-date. We hold monthly safety meetings and support a variety of safety campaigns and initiatives throughout the year.
As a partner with our local schools and families, we will never compromise the care or safety of our passengers.
Driver Qualifications
We believe that the success of our company is determined by the quality of our employees, and we are committed to hiring only the best and most qualified drivers. To help carry out this commitment, we require a rigid set of candidate qualifications including police clearance and criminal checks, reference checks, MTO medical requirements, driving history and training requirements, and more. These standards and procedures have been developed to ensure that our drivers share our values and goals of operating in a safe, legal, and professional manner.
Accident Reviews
In the unfortunate event of an accident, our Accident Review Committee, which is made up of managers, mechanics, safety personnel, and school bus drivers, will create a report of recommendations on how to prevent future accidents of the same nature. All drivers involved in a preventable collision undergo mandatory retraining in the applicable area by an approved trainer prior to being permitted to operate another company vehicle.
Safety Programs & Partnerships
We deeply value our partnerships with the communities we serve, and believe that together with our drivers, managers, mechanics, and safety team, we are carrying the future safely. To support this, we actively engage with a variety of civic organizations to better protect and serve our communities.
Ontario Provincial Police: We have teamed up with the Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) in a unique community awareness partnership by donating a school bus that has been converted into a mobile classroom. The OPP uses this vehicle to visit local communities in an effort to promote awareness about road, property and personal safety. Parkview also partners with our local police for school bus evacuation training in areas, as well as First Rider Programs for our youngest students prior to their first days of school.
Good Neighbors Award: We received the Good Neighbors Award in 2011, thanks to our drivers and staff for donating and collecting over 1,880 pounds of food for the local food bank, as well as our Relay for Life Team which raised $7,700.00 for cancer research.
Support for Students: Parkview has started a fundraiser in the hopes of raising $4,000 for scholarships to our local high schools. Additionally, our team members participate in “Coats for Kids”, a collection drive where we collected over 450 coats to help keep our communities warm.
Safety Awards Program: We have our own in-house safe driving awards program, which provides annual recognition of all drivers who achieve or maintain an accident-free record. We are very proud to work with drivers who have attained more than 40 years of accident-free driving with Parkview Transit. Our commitment to safety is reflected in our drivers’ years of safe driving.
Community Associations: To further enhance our commitment to safety, we are very active members in the following groups and associations.
- WSIB Safety Groups Association
- Council of Driver Trainers
- Ontario Safety League
- Ontario School Bus Association
- Sponsors of the New Tecumseth Road Watch Program
