Ontario ombudsman will look into school bus driver shortage

Ontario :– Ontario ombudsman Paul Dubé is appointing staff members to examine the widespread shortage of school bus drivers affecting hundreds of students.
Over the past week, school bus driver shortages in Toronto, York Region and Hamilton have affected over 1,000 children and their parents, who have been forced to find alternative transportation for their kids.
Both boards say the problems are centred primarily on three companies that provide bus service: Attridge Transportation, Sharp Bus Lines and Wheelchair Accessible Transit.

“Over the past few days, we have heard media reports as well as complaints from frustrated parents who waited for their children to be picked up or dropped off, only to have no bus show up,” he said in the release.
A spokesperson from TDSB said the problem primarily impacts elementary students on their 60 bus routes. In the meantime, drivers are doubling up on routes and staff are pitching in to help out with student drop-offs.
If deemed necessary, the investigation will look into how the shortage occurred and what was done to inform parents prior to the first day back to school.
Dubé said the probe will likely lead to recommendations on how to remedy the problem now and for future school years.
Earlier today, Ontario’s education minister Mitzie Hunter said it’s the responsibility of school boards to fix the bus driver shortage, not the province.
Hunter said that the province has made funding available for school boards to obtain transportation, and that it has been increased by 40 percent since 2003.
Some bus drivers told CTV Toronto that the lack of drivers is a result of low wages, variable hours and increased responsibility of young children.
The Ontario Safety League, which trains bus drivers, said wages often sit around $65 per day based on four hours of paid work and that many drivers have opted to drive for Uber instead.
Furthermore, the union representing more than 1,000 bus drivers told CP24 that the lack of drivers “isn’t a surprise,” calling them “the lowest paid transit workers in the Province of Ontario.”
Dubé pledged that the assessment into the problem will be conducted “as quickly as possible.”
Anyone who has information about the school bus shortage is being asked to call the Ombudsman’s office at 1-800-263-1830 or through an online complaint form found at www.ombudsman.on.ca.