Expect school bus delays in New Sudbury, says consortium

The Sudbury Student Services Consortium, the organization that coordinates bus routes for school kids, says a bus driver shortage will cause some delays.

Renee Boucher, speaking for the consortium, says two routes — L004 and L016 from Leuschen Transportation—  will be picking up students 45 minutes late in the morning, and dropping them off another 30 minutes later when the school day is done.

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A driver shortage is causing the delay, Boucher said. That's an issue facing bus companies in all parts of the province. For Sudbury's consortium, some drivers are waiting for either medical or criminal record check clearances after completing their courses.

"Some drivers have been trained during the summer, however because of delays at the MTO level they can't be behind a bus," she said. "As soon as we can get those clearances we will be putting those drivers back behind the wheel."

Boucher is optimistic the new drivers can begin work shortly.

"We are telling parents it's until further notice, but we're really hoping we'll be able to cover these two routes in a couple of days."

Affected students for the morning delays are at Churchill, Westmount, Carl Nesbitt and Ernie Checkeris.

The afternoon delays affect students at Hélène-Gravel, St. Denis and Holy Trinity schools.

For more information, visit the consortium's website www.businfo.ca.