Hamilton’s school boards are projecting a bus driver shortage that could affect students come Sept. 4, the first of classes.
This may come as no surprise to parents with kids heading back to the classroom because it has affected school boards across the province for the past few years.
Todd White, chair of the Hamilton-Wentworth District school board says no cancellations are expected but there will likely be delays.
“The last two years the numbers have been significant, definitely enough to bring us into a negative. That’s why even though the numbers are checking out similar to last year, from experience we can simply say there will be a delay.”
White says many drivers wait until Sept. 1 to hand in their notice of resignation.
Retention, he says, is abysmal and the impact on school bus routes is increasingly prolonged.
Two years ago, 18 routes were affected by delays. The driver shortage was resolved within seven weeks. He says that didn’t happen last year.
“It never went away. By June we were still about nine or 10 drivers short.”
Changes within the industry, and provincially, including an increased minimum wage, appear to have prompted drivers to look elsewhere for employment, according to White.
As it turns out, the school board might also be shifting its focus away from the current student transportation model.
White says provincial funding has failed to keep up with transportation costs.
White says the board would have to foot the shortfall when their current contract ends in three years. He says they will be faced with trying to find efficiencies or as a “last resort,” start moving away from using school buses.
Until then, Hamilton-Wentworth Student Transportation Services, the consortium managing Hamilton’s 503 routes across the public and Catholic boards, says it will be working with the local bus companies to try to minimize the impact on students.
Families can get email alerts about delays by signing up at HamiltonSchoolBus.ca