Changes are coming to bus routes in the Prairie South School Division. Officials in the Transportation Department are getting a full grasp on some new computer mapping that will allow routes to be more efficient and reduce the time rural students spend on the bus but not everyone is pleased. The changes and reduction in routes have some bus drivers concerned about their positions and the amount of time that kids are on the bus if there are fewer routes.

"Next year we'll be down about nine bus routes, division ride," said Director of Education Tony Baldwin. "We do an evaluation every spring and one of the things that we're really committed too is being as efficient as we can and so we have some neat opportunities that exist that we wouldn't have had ten years ago that allow us to take a pretty good look every year and make sure that our routes are as efficient as they can be."

Prairie South is using a mapping program that links directly to Google Maps, tracks every road and yard site where a bus needs to travel and then gives the Transit Department all of the different options based on the variables they choose. Time on the bus and pick up times are just a couple of the factors that they look at.

Baldwin says losing nine routes might seem like a reduction in service but shifting school start times and revamping routes have made the service more efficient, saving dollars on fuel and allowing money that to be re-invested in the classroom.

Changes are still being mapped out and Baldwin says fall registration could impact the new routes so nothing is expected to be finalized until just before kids head back to school.

"One student who lives in either the right place or the wrong place depending on your point of view, can upset the apple cart and cause us to have to recreate the routes," added Baldwin.

Any changes that are made will likely be made closer to the second half of August.