EFIS Instructions
2025-26
2025-26 Estimates
Section 6
Section 6A

Section 6A - Transportation Services Allocation

This allocation includes several components that provide the bulk of transportation funding to school boards.

TAB: 6A. INPUT - Prior Year Alloc.

This tab loads the prior year’s Student Transportation Fund value from the 2024-25 Revised Estimates, Section 6, item 6Z less items 1.2.3 and 2.2.3. In the Estimates and Revised Estimates cycles only, the value may be adjusted to the latest data available, if applicable.

It is used in the calculation of the Top-up Amount within the Local Priorities, Operations and Transition Component of the Transportation Services Allocation.

1. Buses Component

This component includes separate amounts for vehicles, fuel, drivers, spare capacity, and non-refundable HST.

The Fuel Amount includes an adjustment for fuel prices that compares the posted monthly average market diesel rate (excluding HST) for southern and northern Ontario from September to June, published on the Ontario.ca website, to the diesel benchmark rate for southern and northern Ontario. If the difference is greater than 3% (positive or negative), an adjustment to the transportation grant is calculated.

In EFIS, the monthly average fuel rates will be loaded to the columns at item 1.2.3.1 as follows:

  • Estimates: fuel rates for all months will be equal to the benchmark rate, so that no fuel adjustment is calculated.

  • Revised Estimates:

    • Actual average diesel rate for September will be loaded at the time of release, so that a fuel adjustment, if applicable, will be calculated only in the September column.

    • Actual average diesel rates for October, November, and December will be loaded to the FO-reviewed version before transfer payments are made to school boards under the Revised Estimates doc set. The fuel adjustment, if applicable, will be calculated for the first four months of the school year.

  • Financial Statements: actual average diesel rates for all months will be loaded before release, so that an accurate fuel adjustment is calculated for the entire year.

2. Contracted Special Purpose Vehicles (CSPVs) Component

This component includes separate amounts for vehicles, fuel, drivers, spare capacity, and non-refundable HST.

The CSPVs Fuel Amount is calculated the same way as the Fuel Amount within the Buses Component, but using the gasoline price instead of diesel price, with a separate gasoline fuel benchmark. The comparison for this calculation is the posted monthly average market gasoline rate (excluding HST) for southern and northern Ontario. The loading of monthly average rates to EFIS will follow the same timeline as noted above for the Buses Component.

3. Retention and Recruitment Bonus Component

This is the sum of two table amounts in the funding regulation.

4. Contracted Taxis Component

This is a table amount in the funding regulation.

5. Public Transit Component

This component calculates funding by multiplying two table amounts in the funding regulation:

  • Number of students assigned to public transit, and
  • Per-student funding amount

6. Local Priorities, Operations and Transition Component

This component provides support for school boards to address unique circumstances, needs, and operations of their transportation services. It includes a board amount and amounts for enrolment, rural and northern adjustment, special transportation needs, transition, stabilization, and top-up.

  • The Transition Amount is provided to ensure that school boards do not experience a decline in funding due to the release of the new funding model. It compares a school board’s adjusted 2022-23 funding under the Student Transportation Grant to the current school year’s adjusted base under the Transportation Services Allocation, and then funds the shortfall, if any.

  • The 2022-23 Student Transportation Grant, at item 6.6, is loaded from the board-submitted 2022-23 Financial Statements, Section 9, items 9.5 + 9.7.

  • The Stabilization Amount is a table amount in funding regulation. The amount is to support optimization of transportation routes and address any annual volatility in routes, daily distance and/or time.

  • The Top-Up Amount ensures that each school board receives a minimum increase compared to the prior year school year’s funding. The prior year’s Student Transportation Fund value is loaded to item 6.8.1 from the 2024-25 Revised Estimates, Section 6, item 6Z less items 1.2.3 and 2.2.3, and can be adjusted to the latest data in the Estimates and Revised Estimates cycles only.

Last updated on
Section 6B