Transportation
CONTACT INFO & HOURS
RETSD Transportation Department
Phone: 204.669.0202
transportation@retsd.mb.ca
Dispatch hours: 6 a.m.–4:45 p.m., Monday to Friday
Other department hours: 8 a.m.–4:45 p.m., Monday to Friday
WELCOME
River East Transcona School Division has one of the largest transportation departments in Manitoba, operating 82 school buses and safely transporting an average of 4,000 students over 1.3 million km each year in both urban and rural areas. That's like driving from Winnipeg to the moon... more than three times!
SCHOOLMESSENGER & X (TWITTER)
Our transportation department uses SchoolMessenger to deliver texts and emails about bus delays, route cancellations, and cancellations due to extreme weather. These messages will go directly to the child’s primary contact with a cellphone number and email address in the system. So, ensure your information is up to date with your child(ren)’s school(s), with a cellphone number and email address for the primary contact.
The transportation department also provides these notifications on their X (Twitter) account—you can follow them at @RETSDtransport. For those without an X (Twitter) account, these tweets are automatically posted at "Transportation Notifications (Bus Delays)" in the sidebar on the left-hand side of this page.
EXTREME WEATHER PROCEDURES
Sometimes, severe weather causes the transportation department to cancel buses. If buses are cancelled, you will receive a text and email through SchoolMessenger and a cancellation alert will appear at the top of the home page of this website. If the transportation department has not posted a cancellation alert by 6:45 a.m., buses are running. If transportation is cancelled in the morning, this cancellation will apply for the entire day.
The general rule is if the actual temperature at The Forks—as posted by Environment Canada at about 6:10 a.m.—reaches or exceeds -35°C or the wind chill reaches or exceeds -45°C, the transportation department will cancel buses for the entire day, but schools usually remain open. All metro Winnipeg school divisions follow one system based on these rules.
Major radio stations and local television stations will also announce busing cancellations. They usually broadcast this information about every 15 minutes.
