Southwestern Ontario Student Transportation Services (STS) is suggesting that parents and guardians in the London, Ont., region make alternate arrangements to get kids to schools on Sept. 14.
In a release Tuesday afternoon, STS says bus companies have reported difficulty “attracting and retaining drivers” since schools were closed in mid-March as a result of the novel coronavirus pandemic.
“We don’t want people to think it’s dire straits — we have our routes covered, our core routes are covered. But the reality is the bus companies don’t have as many spare drivers to fill in for absences as they would like to see at this time of year,” Maureen Cosyn Heath, Southwestern Ontario STS chief administrative officer, told Global News.
“So what that does mean is there is a chance that buses could be delayed or even cancelled. And we want parents to know that now so that they have an opportunity to do a little emergency planning as they preparing for back to school.”
The STS recommends that parents and guardians monitor the My Big Yellow Bus website and the BusPlanner Delays app for any updates.
“We’re going to do our very best to give as much notice as possible. Our notices do go out daily between 6:00 in the morning and 6:30 a.m. at the latest. So, as always, parents and guardians should check our My Big Yellow Bus website. There is also an app that they can download and have notifications sent directly to their smartphone. Email is available as well, although email is a little less reliable, to be honest, because of just all the different internet service providers.”
When asked about possible reasons for the shortage of drivers, Cosyn Heath said that they’ve been hearing it’s due to a “combination of factors” including retirements and “drivers thinking of their health and safety and that of their families as well.”
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