Fewer school buses being cancelled due to driver shortage, new data shows

Local Journalism Initiative
·2 min read

School bus cancellations due to driver shortages are going down, according to new data.

During the District School Board Ontario North East (DSB1) board meeting on April 16, the board received a presentation on how efforts to address driver shortages are working and what route cancellation numbers looked like over the last three months.

Between September and December, there were 8.4 bus cancellations per day due to driver shortages. From January to April, that dropped to 6.8 per day.

Since Jan. 1, 11 routes were cancelled for more than 10 days, 58 routes were cancelled for less than 10 days, and 122 routes saw no cancellations.

“When routes are cancelled longtime, we do try to get students on other routes where possible,” said superintendent Lisa Edwards.

In January, DSB1 announced a gas card program that will cost about $55,000 this year. It compensates parents who have to drive their children to school when buses are cancelled due to driver shortages.

“When a bus is cancelled, that is a barrier for our families,” said Lesleigh Dye, director of education. “It’s meant to honour the family and say, we know it’s a burden and here’s how we’re trying to support you.”

The board will review costs for that program as part of the budget for the next school year.

Tutoring services for children who missed classes due to bus cancellations were also offered, but uptake of that option was low, with only one family signing up.

Dye said that some of the issues could be that many students are looking for other learning options.

“I think some of our students are very tired of virtual learning and welcome the opportunity of in-person,” said Dye.

The board is charged per tutoring session and the services were shared with families by letters home, emails and on social media. Principals are also aware of the program and can suggest it to families.

Work is also ongoing to identify challenges for recruiting and retaining bus drivers.

In December, the representatives from school boards and the five bus operators in the North East Tri-Board Consortium met.

The barriers identified are delays on criminal checks and Ministry of Transportation approvals for drivers, lack of attraction, training times, and having minimal access to testing facilities.

Amanda Rabski-Mccoll, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, TimminsToday.com

  • Up next
  • Up next
  • Up next
  • Up next

Latest Stories

  • Intense heat prompts Philippines to order millions of public school students to stay home

    Scorching temperatures in Manila have prompted the closure of all public schools for in-person lessons, meaning millions of students are staying home. The Philippines is among the worst affected by the sweltering weather in Southeast Asia where the intense tropical summer heat worsened by humidity had forced on and off in-person class cancellations in recent weeks and sparked fears of water shortages, power outages and damage to agricultural crops. (AP video by Aaron Favila)

  • 'Don't cause any problems': Doug Ford sends message to pro-Palestinian protesters on university campuses

    Asked what actions his government would take if encampments on university grounds related to pro-Palestinian protests occurred in Ontario, Premier Doug Ford responded on Tuesday that he has "all the confidence in the world" the universities' security can handle the situation. His message to protesters was, "Don't interrupt some students' graduation. Don't interrupt the students from learning...Don't cause any problems there," adding he supports students.

  • Gaza protest camp rises at UBC, as Eby deplores 'most hateful' speech praising Hamas

    VANCOUVER — The Gaza protest encampment movement that has roiled academic campuses in the United States and Canada arrived in British Columbia on Monday, with demonstrators setting up unauthorized fencing and tents at the University of B.C. Protesters had set up about 20 tents on MacInnes Field by noon, erecting temporary fencing around the site and requiring people to wear masks to enter. Premier David Eby called on the school and student leaders to balance free speech with people's personal sa

  • Philippine students suffer in wilting heat, thwarting education efforts

    Sweltering heat in the Philippines can curb farm production, disrupt water and power and weigh on businesses, but it also takes a toll on students, hampering the Southeast Asian nation's efforts to catch up to its neighbours in education. Heat indices have hit 50 degrees Celsius (122 degrees Fahrenheit) in various regions in the Philippines, as the weather phenomenon El Nino intensifies the heat enveloping the nation in its summer months of March to May.

  • Pro-Palestinian encampment grows at Montreal's McGill university

    MONTREAL — Pro-Palestinian student activists in Montreal have set up camp on the grounds of McGill University this weekend, following a wave of similar protests on campuses across the United States. More than two dozen tents had been pitched at the school's downtown campus On Sunday afternoon, with a steady stream of visitors stopping by to drop off donations and supplies. "Ruth," a McGill student and spokesperson who didn't want to give her full name for fear of reprisals from the school or pol

  • Ontario tightening rules around cellphones, banning vaping in schools

    The Ontario government is introducing new measures to crack down on cellphone use and vaping in schools as the province sees an 'alarming rise' of vaping and cellphone distractions in classrooms.

  • Lebanese students stage rare university protest against Israel

    Hundreds of students gathered at university campuses in Lebanon on Tuesday to protest against Israel, the country's first coordinated university protests over Gaza, which participants said were inspired by sit-ins in the United States. Rayyan Kilani, 21, who is graduating this semester from the 150-year-old American University of Beirut (AUB), said students had decided it was worth risking their degrees to show support for the Palestinian cause.

  • Columbia suspends pro-Palestinian protesters after encampment talks stall

    NEW YORK (Reuters) -Columbia University on Monday began suspending pro-Palestinian student activists who refused to dismantle a protest camp on the New York City campus after the Ivy League school declared a stalemate in talks seeking to end the polarizing demonstration. University President Nemat Minouche Shafik said in a statement that days of negotiations between student organizers and academic leaders had failed to persuade demonstrators to remove the dozens of tents set up to express opposition to Israel's war in Gaza. The crackdown at Columbia, at the center of Gaza-related protests roiling university campuses across the U.S. in recent weeks, occurred as police at the University of Texas at Austin arrested dozens of students whom they doused with pepper spray at a pro-Palestinian rally.

  • McGill University calls pro-Palestinian encampment illegal, campers vow to stay

    MONTREAL — Pro-Palestinian activists said on Monday they have no intention of dismantling their camp at Montreal's McGill University, as the school said it was discussing its next steps to deal with what it called an illegal encampment. Dozens of tents were pitched on the lawn of McGill's downtown campus behind a metal fence festooned with Palestinian flags and posters. Cases of bottled water and a small generator could be seen behind the fence, as masked protesters at the gate welcomed supporte

  • Children hungry after school meals, says commissioner

    A "snapshot" survey by Wales' children's commissioner found many children wanted more food at lunch.

  • ‘Columbia Falls’: Campus Protesters Defy Suspension Threats and Occupy Hall

    Hours after Columbia University's deadline for students to disband their encampment to avoid suspension, emboldened protesters have taken over a hall.

  • Pro-Palestinian activists call on Auraria students to walk out Monday

    Pro-Palestinian activists called on students at the Auraria campus to walk out of class Monday and join them at Tivoli Quad where dozens are calling on university officials to divest from Israel.

  • Pro-Palestinian protesters occupy Columbia University building

    (Reuters) -Pro-Palestinian activists occupied a building at Columbia University early on Tuesday, escalating a battle with administrators who have begun suspending students for refusing to dismantle tents set up on the New York campus. Protesters entered Hamilton Hall - the site of student protests dating back to the 1960s - and suspended a banner reading "Hind's Hall" from an upper floor. "This building is liberated in honor of Hind, a six-year-old Palestinian child murdered in Gaza by the Israeli occupation forces funded by Columbia University," a protester shouted from inside, with those outside repeating each phrase.

  • Microsoft’s Salary Secrets: Here Are the Pay Tiers for Tech Pros

    Thanks to leaked Microsoft pay guidelines, you can now see how much professionals make working for the tech giant. Check Out: Robert Kiyosaki -- 5 Side Hustles You Can Work From Anywhere in the World...

  • Gaza protests: McGill Pro-Palestinian demonstrations spread to UBC, uOttawa

    While anger about Israel's war in Gaza is escalating at several U.S. universities and colleges, pro-Palestinian protests are also growing on Canadian campuses. Mike Armstrong reports on the reaction to the demonstrations, and what students are demanding.

  • Protesters take over Columbia University's Hamilton Hall in escalation of anti-war demonstrations

    NEW YORK (AP) — Dozens of protesters took over a building at Columbia University in New York early Tuesday, barricading the entrances and unfurling a Palestinian flag out of a window in the latest escalation of demonstrations against the Israel-Hamas war that have spread to college campuses nationwide. Video footage showed protesters on Columbia's Manhattan campus locking arms in front of Hamilton Hall early Tuesday and carrying furniture and metal barricades to the building, one of several that

  • Columbia president says talks with protesters stalled as university issues new deadline

    Columbia University President Minouche Shafik announced Monday that talks with the pro-Palestinian protesters have stalled on the campus, where the national movement for encampments for Gaza began. Additionally, the university has given students camped on campus until 2 p.m. Monday to voluntarily pack up their things. If that is done, and involved students sign a…

  • Campus protesters are calling for divestment. Here’s what that means

    College campuses across the country have been thrown into disarray by pro-Palestinian demonstrations this month.

  • Column: Calling the police on campus protests shows that college presidents haven't learned a thing since the 1960s

    Why didn't USC and Columbia administrators understand that bringing police onto campus always makes things worse, not better?

  • White House condemns takeover of Columbia University building, use of 'intifada' at college protests

    The White House condemned the takeover of a Columbia University academic building by Pro-Palestinian protesters and the use of the term "intifada."