TRURO, Nova Scotia — Chignecto-Central Regional School Board's transportation department has received a Gold Achievement Award for the 14th year in a row from the province.

The Gold Achievement Award was presented at the Annual Nova Scotia Pupil Transportation Conference held last month. The school board's transportation fleet and staff were evaluated by the Nova Scotia Department of Education and the motor carrier division of the Nova Scotia Utility and Review Board on training, accident reporting and frequency, maintenance programs, stops per mile and passenger loads, trip inspection and hours of work regulations, garage cleanliness and safety practices, and bus cleanliness and appearance.

"Receiving the gold standard 14 years in a row speaks strongly of our commitment to student safety and transportation reliability," said board member Kaaren Barkhouse.

For the 2010-11 school year, Chignecto-Central Regional School Board expanded its transportation service area by 25 percent to include in-house bus service for the Chignecto Family of Schools in Cumberland County. In the process, the board had to change some former bus routes and times to help ensure effective and efficient service.

"We are especially proud to secure the highest achievement gold rating this year," said Herb Steeves, director of operational services. "It is gratifying that the provincial evaluation committee recognized that our transportation staff did a great job expanding our fleet and service, while ensuring all safety requirements continued to be met throughout the board."

The Chignecto-Central Regional School Board operates approximately 214 buses on over 540 routes daily across the school board. The transportation department has approximately 250 drivers, 19 mechanics and seven supervisory staff who work to safely transport approximately 17,000 students to and from school each day.

As SBFpreviously reported, the South Shore Regional School Board also recently received a Gold Achievement Award from the Nova Scotia government.