Officials warn that the shortage of school bus drivers and the resulting delays and cancellations that often affect the start of the school year are being exacerbated by the pandemic, and may continue well into the fall semester in some areas of Ontario.
In Ottawa, nearly 2,500 students are currently affected, and the Ottawa Student Transportation Authority said it may take months to fully resolve the driver shortage.
Part of the problem is COVID-19, said Nina Camilleri, communications coordinator for the authority.
“A large percentage of our drivers were retirees, some of whom decided not to continue for fear of coming into contact with children and the public,” he said.
The Toronto Student Transportation Group, which provides transportation services to public and Catholic school boards, said nearly 50 of the 1,800 routes are driverless, directly affecting nearly 1,500 of the 45,000 students.
Kevin Hodgkinson, the group’s general manager, could not give an estimate of how long the problems might last.
Meanwhile, taxi services are used as an alternative method of transportation “on a daily basis,” Hodgkinson said, though he didn’t provide the number of taxis or the students who use them because he said it fluctuates every day.
“It’s an option for parents if they want their kids to get to school on time,” Hodgkinson said.
It’s a short-term solution to make sure students don’t fall behind in school, he said, and the transportation group doesn’t intend to use it once contract operators have enough drivers for the buses.
Some retired drivers are very concerned about COVID-19 and are unwilling to work right now, he said.
“We’ve seen a number of them that are on what we consider to be furloughs so they’re … waiting to come back,” Hodgkinson said.
“They are waiting to make sure they don’t get sick in the future and that they don’t make their family sick as well.”
In Waterloo, Ontario, the school board announced it will cancel some of its routes, experiencing delays of 50 minutes or more, through December due to a driver shortage.
Affected families can find an alternative transportation method for their children or learn remotely, the board said last week.
In Hamilton, there were an average of 68 daily morning tardies and 85 afternoon tardies in the first week of school, according to the Hamilton-Wentworth District School Board. Hamilton-Wentworth Student Transportation Services said its operators were short 19 drivers earlier this week, not including spare and occasional drivers.
Nancy Daigneault, executive director of School Bus Ontario, a nonprofit association that advocates for bus operators in the province, called the shortage “serious” in Toronto, Ottawa, Peterborough and some other parts of the Greater Toronto Area. and blamed the government for not providing enough funds for the school bus system.
She said drivers are quitting because of pay.
“The drivers are highly qualified. They have much more training than public transport drivers. And yet they get paid less,” he said.
The Education Ministry said the student transport subsidy is projected to be around $1.1 billion this year, an increase of $28 million from last year.
In addition, a retention pilot program, through which eligible drivers could receive up to $2,000 in bonus payments, has been extended for this school year with an investment of around $40 million, the ministry said, and there will be additional funds for boards deal with high gas prices.
“We have increased investment to the highest level in Ontario history and expanded the Driver Retention Program that provides salary enhancements to school bus drivers to ensure reliable and safe transportation for families,” said Grace Lee, spokesperson of the ministry, in an email. .
But Daigneault said the retention program is not enough and the government needs to do more.
He called the decision to use taxis to transport school children in Toronto “unfortunate” and said he doubts taxi drivers have the same certifications and training as school bus drivers before they are allowed to transport the “heaviest cargo.” precious, our children”.
The Ottawa Student Transportation Authority and its operators formed a driver recruitment task force in April and launched a driver recruitment drive, and are working on short- and long-term solutions to the shortage, he said.
This report from The Canadian Press was first published on September 21, 2022.