Nova Scotia is undertaking an internal review of the province’s school bus system after some day one “glitches” that the education minister says are common at the start of every school year.
On Wednesday, more than 100 children at an elementary school in the Halifax suburb of Bedford were left stranded after their buses didn’t arrive.
Dozens of parents of students at Basinview Drive Community School complained on social media over buses that were late, early, or didn’t come.
READ MORE: ‘It was a hot mess’: Bedford parents outraged after students left stranded at school
Education Minister Zach Churchill told reporters Thursday that a new online system for registering for bus service and late registrations played a role in some of the confusion.
However, he said given annual problems with the service provided by Stock Transportation, his department is reviewing the busing system.
“We’re working very diligently to make sure those glitches are worked out as quickly as possible. … We go through challenges like this at the beginning of every school year,” he told reporters on Thursday.
Terri Lowe, Stock’s chief operating officer, apologized to parents in a statement Thursday, but noted that more than 97 per cent of students arrived to school on time Wednesday.
“However, we will not rest until all route issues have been sorted,” she said. “We welcome the opportunity to work with the ministry on student busing.”
She said a new route notification system was introduced this year, as well as a new process for courtesy seats for students who would not normally qualify for busing.
“A final challenge faced this year was ensuring student data we received is complete and up-to-date. If there are discrepancies with this data, routes will be incorrect,” she said.
Churchill said there is no plan to drop the contract with Stock, but rather to make the existing system work better.
“We have to make sure we do better in getting our kids to and from school, starting on Day 1 … I expect some immediate improvements each day as we move forward,” he told reporters.
“More broadly speaking, we are taking a look at busing practices and policies and making sure we’re doing our very best from a provincial perspective to make sure our kids are getting to and from school, in the most efficient way possible.”
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