City promoting school buses

To help reduce traffic on Calabasas city streets and the surrounding areas, Calabasas and the Las Virgenes Unified School District have joined forces to increase the number of school bus riders.

All Calabasas residents attending Calabasas public schools can register for the school bus service. Applications are available at the city’s website and can be mailed to the address on the form or dropped off at Calabasas City Hall, 26135 Mureau Road.

The cost is $99 per student per semester for round-trip service and $65 per student per semester for one-way service.

City officials said school bus riding conditions have recently improved, and they hope more students will take buses.

Only two students are allowed per bench seat, with no more than 56 students on bus. The previous bus program allowed three passengers per seat, which often resulted in packed school buses.

Travel time will be 30 minutes or less. The city expanded the number of buses on the road by 10.

Aggressive disciplinary action will be taken against students misbehaving on the bus. Cameras were installed inside the buses to observe behavior.

For more information about the new school bus program, call Calabasas City Hall at (818) 878-4225 or go to www.cityofcalabasas. com/ school-bus.html.

The site has a CTV original production and a public service announcement video about the new bus program. You can also download bus pass applications from the website.

—Michael Picarella