By Staff
September 12, 2016
BURLINGTON, ON
Halton Student Transportation Services (HSTS) advises that a shortage of school bus drivers is having an impact on school bus operations in the Halton Region, similar to many school boards in the greater Toronto area. This shortage could be negatively impacting some schools because of bus delays.
So it isn’t just Toronto that can’t find the school bus drivers needed – Might that be because they don’t pay enough?
That school bus you are used to seeing show up every day – just might not be there this month – there is a serious shortage of drivers for school bus routes in Burlington and Oakville.
Halton Student Transportation Services is working with the bus companies to try to minimize the impact on students. Parents are encouraged to sign up for delays and cancellation notifications on the HSTS website (haltonbus.ca). A list of bus delays is also posted on the HSTS website.
HSTS is a transportation consortium providing home to school transportation services to students of the Halton District School Board and the Halton Catholic District School Board.
The bus driver shortage is currently impacting Oakville and Burlington bus routes. Interested applicants are encouraged to contact the following bus companies about job requirements:
First Student Canada, Burlington and Oakville – 905-335-7010
Attridge Transportation Inc. – 905-333-4047
My 2 kids 12 and 13 years use bus daily. I think its definitely worth paying more to the drivers. Their service is worth much more than they are paid.
Can’t parents slip the driver a $1 tip each week?
The pizza deliverer & the taxi driver get a tip – but not the people who deliver our most precious cargo.
72 kids/bus @ buck a week for 40 weeks.
That’s a couple thousand over a school year for less than the price of a coffee. Problem solved.
The funding for school bus transportation comes from the provincial gov’t. The school bus companies are the providers of a gov’t mandated service. No surprise the drivers make as little as they do. There are some perks though. I drove a bus for a couple of years when my kids were school-age and pre-school age. I got to take them aboard my bus (no daycare costs), I had the same holidays and breaks they had, and generally it was a fun job (although driving a bus full of screaming kids through traffic congestion is no picnic!). It’s good work for stay-at-home-moms, retirees and newcomers who need work experience (provided their language skills are strong enough). I don’t understand why the current shortage exists.
The only people adequately remunerated in the school boards are the administrators (check that Sunshine List) and teachers. All others, including Educational Assistants, Early Childhood Educators, secretaries, custodians, instructors and IT staff earn meagre hourly wages, despite the fact that without them, the schools would not be operating as well as they do.
The public needs to understand this.
Attridge Transportation is based in Burlington, serving Hamilton,Halton,Peel and Toronto Boards
Are there new bus companies in Burlington similar to what happened in Toronto?
YES—-It’s almost impossible for drivers to live on what they get paid—
These “Private” owners are just raking in the cash(from us-the taxpayer—But won’t pay decent wages to their workers-
My wife drove SB for over 25 years. Barely over minimum wage, for the responsibility. Hardly worthwhile,Dispatcher wants you get there faster, Parents are never happy with the service, and then there’s the idiot drivers that drive through the Stop Lights putting kids at risk.
No wonder there’s a shortage.Best career move she ever made,Quitting.