By Staff
August 23rd, 2017
BURLINGTON, ON
Oh no – not again.
The Halton District school Board announced that there “may” be some school bus service delays when school resumes on September 5th.
There apparently aren’t enough drivers available.
The Halton Student Transportation Services (HSTS) advises that a shortage of school bus drivers may impact school bus operations in the Burlington and Oakville areas this September. The shortage could negatively impact some schools due to bus delays. At this time, bus operators in Milton and Halton Hills do not anticipate a bus driver shortage.
HSTS is a corporation owned by the Catholic and public school boards.
Parents are encouraged to sign up for delays and cancellation notifications on the HSTS website (haltonbus.ca) before school starts.
School bus delays will be posted on the HSTS website starting the first day of school, Tuesday, September 5, 2017.
In a media release HSTS said they appreciate the important work bus drivers provide for the school community by getting students safely to school each day; apparently not enough to improve on what bus drivers are paid,
“We are grateful for the service the school bus drivers provide to the students in Halton” says Karen Lacroix, General Manager of Halton Student Transportation Services.
Bus companies are focusing their recruitment efforts with advertisements in various newspapers, radio, TV and through employment open houses. Together HSTS and the Halton school boards are promoting school bus driver employment opportunities to parents/guardians and the community.
HSTS has been assisting in this effort by advertising jobs on the HSTS website and through the Halton school boards’ Twitter feeds (@HaltonDSB and @HCDSB).
I was a school bus driver Laidlaw (now First Student) and Attridge 15 years ago. With the amount of responsibility, bus drivers have of driving up to 72 “darling little angels” let me assure you it does not reflect in the pay. Bus drivers are expected to do a full vehicle inspection before each run (not paid for). They take kids mouthing off to them and not obeying safety rules and all they can do is write a pink slip and hope the principal is going to follow up with it (many do not). They put up with parents who yell at them at bus stops because a)the parent does not like where the stop is. Bus drivers don’t make the routes. Yell at Karen Laroux at Halton Transportation and b) because you are late arriving at the stop in the morning or afternoon. Maybe next time the question should be did something happen? They are expected to drive in bad weather when Miller deems the weather to be safe to drive in. Let me tell you driving a school bus is not like driving your car, especially when you 72 screaming kids behind you.
If the pay reflected the responsibility and the seriousness of the job they would have no problems of hiring school bus drivers.
Remember bus drivers are people too and deserve respect for the job they are doing!
Good Luck September 5th!
Close the schools and bus the kids – yet pay the drivers minimum wage.
Most kids start school AFTER rush hour is over & are done BEFORE rush hour starts.
Burlington already has a running fleet of (mostly empty) Burlington Transit buses that could do a school run during those times.
TTC charges no fare for students so same could be done here.
Problem solved.
“We are grateful for the service the school bus drivers provide to the students in Halton” says Karen Lacroix, General Manager of Halton Student Transportation Services.
What a joke that is, My wife drove for the Bus Company based on Harvester Road for years. They barely pay minimum wage.
No wonder there’s a shortage of drivers.
Hahaha. Parents repeatedly expressed their concerns with the increased bussing necessary for the HDSB preferred option of school closures. ( We are a five minute walk from Pearson ) Numerous delegations warned about logistics problems and provided clear data. Walkability is a board mandate, also ignored. “Not to worry” they said. There is, was, and will never be a bussing problem in Burlington. Therefore I am confident they will provide full details of their new plan, accurate data and complete solution to the non-problem of bussing that does not exist, well in advance of the beginning of the school year. Which is less than two weeks.
It is ironic that the School Board wanted to close Central High and bus potentially 800-1,000 students to MM Robinson! How would they have coped with that influx?
Good question and likely one big reason they opted to keep Central open. The plan would have bussed half the students to Nelson and half to
Aldershot, rather than MMR though. It never made sense.
Central was never going to be split between Nelson and Aldershot. They were going to MMR. MMR is only 9km away not impossible to walk or ride a bike.