Thousands of Ottawa students will be getting bus transportation to school next week after the public and Catholic boards reached an agreement with the striking transit union to run a limited "yellow school bus service."
The buses, which hit the road on Wednesday, will serve about 13 schools that normally rely on OC Transpo's 600 series of routes.
Schedules will be posted Monday on school board websites. The Ottawa Catholic School Board has already announced transportation for students with OC Transpo passes who attend the following high schools: St. Patrick's, Lester B. Pearson, St. Pius X, Immaculata, and Notre Dame.
The Ottawa-Carleton District School Board has not made a similar announcement yet for specific schools.
More than 12,000 students from Grades 7 to 12 use OC Transpo to get to and from school.
An initial contingency plan developed between the school boards and bus operators to deal with the strike fell through when the Amalgamated Transit Union threatened to picket schools and pick-up locations.
City unveils plan to fight traffic
The City of Ottawa also announced additional steps on Friday to ease traffic gridlock when many residents return to work next week.
More than 3,000 off-street parking spaces will be added to encourage carpooling. Carpooling signs will be posted at designated meeting places along selected bus stops in the downtown core. And there are extended no-stopping restrictions in the downtown core.
Click here for detailed information from the City of Ottawa on parking and carpooling changes
