About
School Bus
For a boarding school in the country, transporting students is no small task. Every week students must be picked up from, and dropped off at, ferry terminals, airports, sporting events, academic activities, outdoor excursions, and medical appointments. Even for a typical family this can be complicated, but when the “family” numbers more than 500 students, it becomes a full-time operation requiring a small fleet of vehicles.
Early School Magazines mention buses frequently, though it is unclear exactly when the School first owned one. In the early decades, staff members often drove students in their own vehicles – sometimes squeezing in far more boys than the car was ever designed to hold, in those pre-seatbelt days when enthusiasm occasionally outpaced caution.
By the early 1960s references appear to a “new school bus,” and from then on buses became a familiar part of School life, including memorable vehicles known as the “Hunky” and the “Chunky.” In the 1970s the fleet expanded with larger, more reliable buses. Many will recall the 16-passenger “Cheese Bus,” whose blocky yellow shape inspired its name. Chartered buses had supplemented School vehicles since the 1930s and still do today, especially for longer journeys. The current fleet includes several smaller vehicles and five 40-foot Thomas C2 Safe-T-Liner Activity buses, four equipped with 3-point harness seatbelts.
In earlier years many sport coaches and faculty members obtained special licences to drive buses themselves. Gradually professional drivers took on the role; today five full-time drivers and four part-time drivers keep things moving. Coordinating vehicles, routes, and schedules is a complex task requiring flexibility, patience, and occasional magician-like creativity to deal with cancelled flights, sudden weather, mechanical issues, and other surprises.
Yet Shawnigan buses have always been more than merely transportation. They are places where coaches deliver pep talks, and tired students drift into awkward bus-seat naps. Steamy windows become canvases for finger drawings, and the School Hymn is sung with enthusiasm as the bus rolls back through the gates. For generations of students, the journey itself has been part of the adventure – and if the singing was sometimes a little off-key, the memories rarely are.
The information presented in this write-up is based on current information available in the School's Archives and consultation with key people who have some relevant connection to this "object." If you have further information about this "object" that you would like to contribute, please contact the School’s Advancement Office at alumni@shawnigan.ca.
By the early 1960s references appear to a “new school bus,” and from then on buses became a familiar part of School life, including memorable vehicles known as the “Hunky” and the “Chunky.” In the 1970s the fleet expanded with larger, more reliable buses. Many will recall the 16-passenger “Cheese Bus,” whose blocky yellow shape inspired its name. Chartered buses had supplemented School vehicles since the 1930s and still do today, especially for longer journeys. The current fleet includes several smaller vehicles and five 40-foot Thomas C2 Safe-T-Liner Activity buses, four equipped with 3-point harness seatbelts.
In earlier years many sport coaches and faculty members obtained special licences to drive buses themselves. Gradually professional drivers took on the role; today five full-time drivers and four part-time drivers keep things moving. Coordinating vehicles, routes, and schedules is a complex task requiring flexibility, patience, and occasional magician-like creativity to deal with cancelled flights, sudden weather, mechanical issues, and other surprises.
Yet Shawnigan buses have always been more than merely transportation. They are places where coaches deliver pep talks, and tired students drift into awkward bus-seat naps. Steamy windows become canvases for finger drawings, and the School Hymn is sung with enthusiasm as the bus rolls back through the gates. For generations of students, the journey itself has been part of the adventure – and if the singing was sometimes a little off-key, the memories rarely are.
The information presented in this write-up is based on current information available in the School's Archives and consultation with key people who have some relevant connection to this "object." If you have further information about this "object" that you would like to contribute, please contact the School’s Advancement Office at alumni@shawnigan.ca.
We acknowledge with respect the Coast Salish Peoples on whose traditional lands and waterways we live, learn and play. We are grateful for the opportunity to share in this beautiful region, and we aspire to healthy and respectful relationships with those who have lived on and cared for these lands for millennia.
Shawnigan Lake School is an independent co-educational boarding school for ages 13 –18 on Canada’s beautiful Pacific Coast. Our diverse, interdisciplinary and innovative programming helps shape the next generation of global leaders.
