N.B. family waiting 2 months — and counting — for promised school bus

When Barb Bouchard's family made the decision to move from Oromocto to Grand Lake, making sure her daughters would still have access to a bus to get to their French school in Fredericton, about 50 kilometres away, was imperative.

So Bouchard says she took the necessary steps, confirming in advance they would be eligible for transportation.

With that, the family sold their house and made the move to the Minto area. 

Bouchard contacted the Department of Education and the Francophone South school district and arranged for her two girls to get to École Les Éclaireurs.

But on Aug. 29, only a few days before the first day back for students, she was asked to drive her daughters, who are six and nine, for the first week of school because a bus wasn't available yet.

That one week has now become two months, and she said the few updates she's received about the situation haven't instilled a lot of confidence. 

"About 5½ weeks ago, I was told they'd have a bus within two weeks, and we were just waiting for them to get the route sorted out. They were going to incorporate another subdivision, I think, that maybe is a little bit further from the school, into our kids' route," Bouchard said in an interview with Information Morning Fredericton.

"And then the two week mark came and went, and I never heard anything in terms of an update from them, and I sent a few more emails before I ever reached out to [CBC].

"And really it's been radio silence, and we're just driving our kids every day."

Bouchard said if she knew this was going to be the case, "I can say probably about 90 per cent sure I would not have moved."

At the very least, she said if she had known earlier in the summer, there may have been more time to prepare a little better.

Bouchard is a nurse and her husband is in the military. She said she used most of her emergency leave while her husband was deployed, leaving her with no flexibility for the rest of the year. And while the people at Base Gagetown, where her husband works, have been accommodating, it doesn't always work out.

For example, on Monday morning, Bouchard said her husband was out on field training so she had to drive their children to school in Fredericton — after working a night shift — instead of getting the sleep she needed.

"We're making it work, but just barely."

I know you can't make drivers, you know, pop out of thin air, but obviously they need to make some changes in order to serve the population that they're mandated to support.- Barb Bouchard, mother of two

The Fredericton and Oromocto regions have seen busing challenges over the past while, with school bus cancellations and delays becoming a daily issue. 

In a statement, the Francophone South district said it apologizes for the inconvenience, but couldn't comment on specific cases to respect confidentiality.

"Our District is currently facing a shortage of school buses, particularly in the Fredericton area. While we are expecting additional buses, at this time, the number of routes in that area exceeds the available fleet," the statement said.

It went on to say that the district remains in close contact with the Department of Education to resolve the situation as quickly as possible.

CBC News contacted the Department of Education, which said transportation is a district responsibility and it would not be commenting on the matter.

Francophone South said the school transportation team explores several options for transporting students, such as contracts with taxi services and agreements to reimburse parents who need to drive their children.

It said it does not track the number of students without a regular bus route because "alternative transportation options are provided to ensure the best possible service for our students."

Bouchard said she was offered a taxi to take her kids to school, but because they are six and nine years old, she wasn't comfortable putting them in a cab for 40 or more minutes each way, especially without proper booster seats.

The Anglophone West School District said in an email that not having bus routes for students was not an issue, although the district does consistently struggle with cancelled buses, citing a shortage of casual bus drivers when there are multiple absences.

On Oct. 3, Bouchard received a response from the Education Department's pupil transportation co-ordinator and was told the district had advised the department that a bus route was created but a driver was still needed for the route. 

It's becoming increasingly more difficult for Bouchard and her husband to accommodate driving their kids each day, she said, and she hopes there will soon be a solution, given the promise that was made when they moved. 

"I mean, they told us they would have one for us," she said. 

"I know you can't make drivers, you know, pop out of thin air, but obviously they need to make some changes in order to serve the population that they're mandated to support."