Bus driver shortages linger as Ottawa students head back to class

As the beginning of the school year nears, a string of bus cancellations and delays due to driver shortages has some Ottawa parents scrambling to get their kids to class.

According to the latest announcement this week from the Ottawa School Transportation Authority (OSTA), there's a shortfall of 24 bus drivers across the city, something that will impact nearly 90 routes. 

The organization noted bus operators servicing Nepean, Gloucester and Kars have seen an increase in shortages, but half of the affected operators are in the city's west end. 

But for many parents, the shortages aren't a foreign concept — but rather just a continuation of a long-lasting issue that adds stress to the back-to-school season.

Sarah Currie lives in Kanata and said her 12-year-old son Smith went nearly six months without a bus last year, forcing him to rely on public transit.

While his route is set to run on Sept. 4, Currie said she's bought Smith a Presto pass in case he has to use OC Transpo again.

"I am preparing for [the bus situation] to change because they seem to change pretty regularly up to the last minute," she said.

After two years of dealing with this constant uncertainty, Currie said she's frustrated and stressed about how her teen is going to get to school safely.

However, she said the cancelled routes cause greater difficulties for people living in rural areas who may not have a car or might be a single working parent — leading to unexpected expenses like paying for Ubers, taxis, transit passes or more gas than usual.

Currie said there needs to be more done to retain bus drivers, because the current efforts to keep them aren't working. 

"It's still broken, so it's time to maybe think a little bit outside the box to figure out how we can stop this from happening any more," Currie said. 

"I don't think that the problem is going to be solved until they make it reasonable for people to be able to do the job."

Provincewide challenge

In an online post, OSTA said factors contributing to the driver shortage increase include serious medical situations and drivers who require more training.

However, Nancy Daigneault, executive director of School Bus Ontario — which represents all school bus companies in the province — said it's also partly due to a lack of funding. 

She called the delays in Ottawa long-lasting and severe, but added that it's not just the nation's capital suffering. 

"We're saying this is a provincial issue and they have to take ownership and deal with it," Daigneault said.

In a statement to CBC, Education Minister Jill Dunlop said the Ford government is taking steps to try to retain drivers, such as implementing the driver retention program — meaning eligible school bus drivers can receive up to $2,000 in bonus payments each year. 

"For the upcoming school year, school boards across Ontario will see an increase of $80 million in student transportation funding — a total of $1.3 billion," Dunlop wrote.

Daigneault said large funding cuts to fuel costs and the impacts of inflation will continue to spur delays and cancellations across the province.

She said the disruptions will continue throughout the school year.

"A lot of operators are going to have to make some really tough decisions on cutbacks to operations [and] overhead dispatchers," Daigneault said.