INNISFAIL – Thousands of school children in the region will soon be ready to be transported to school by bus but a “serious” shortage of drivers has many parents on edge whether their kids will even make it to class.
Senior officials at both Chinook's Edge School Division and Red Deer Catholic Regional Schools (RDCRS) are ramping up efforts to attract more part-time bus drivers but are deeply concerned there could be more cases of cancelled routes and kids not getting to class if the province-wide issue is not resolved.
“It is a serious problem. It's clear across Alberta that there’s a struggle to find school bus drivers. We had a transportation convention in April and it's very clear from everybody's point of view, contractors and school divisions, that everybody is short of drivers,” said Corinne Varga, director of transportation for Chinook's Edge.
She said the protracted sluggish economy, coupled with today’s rising inflation, is forcing current and potential bus drivers to seek better paying full-time jobs instead of working part-time driving children to school in the mornings and and then back home in the afternoons.
“It's difficult to maintain people on a part time job,” said Varga.
Shevon Coram, transportation manager at RDCRS, said the troubling issue was apparent even before the start of the COVID-19 pandemic and it remains a troublesome concern for the new school year.
“Last year we had to cancel routes on occasion, so those families were either left not getting their child to school that day, or having to make other arrangements,” said Coram, adding parents are now applying for bus driver positions. “They're hearing a message. If the routes continue to be cancelled on occasion, then it will escalate. It has been brought up.
“We also had some parents and virtual meetings last year because we are opening a new school, so transportation was very much in those discussions,” added Coram. “Anytime I am talking to people I am asking, ‘Who wants to drive a bus?”
RDCRS has 71 school bus routes to serve 3,600 students out of the school division’s total enrolment of more than 10,000 who registered this year for bus transportation.
Chinook's Edge has 3,500 children out of a total student enrolment of more than 11,000 who rely on a school bus.
Varga said 84 bus routes are administered by Chinook’s Edge with another 32 routes in the north division area, such as in the Delburne, Sylvan Lake and Poplar Ridge areas, that are contracted out.
“And they are having the same issues as we are with drivers,” said Varga.
The provincial government is well aware of the problem. In the 2022-23 Alberta budget released last February
increased transportation funding of $9 million was announced for next year to help offset the rising costs of school busing, which has worsened this year by escalating fuel costs.
The school year for 2022-23 begins Sept. 1, and Varga and Coram are trying to find solutions to handle the inevitable transportation challenges that will come for both school divisions.
Varga placed an advertisement in the Albertan this week seeking new drivers. She is especially challenged to find drivers for two rural runs in the Olds area, as well as a consistent number of spare drivers who can help out in areas where regular drivers can’t do a shift.
“We're short for spare drivers in all areas. That’s basically our struggle right now,” said Varga, adding the Olds area issue can be addressed but it’s far from the best solution. “We will end up filling them but we'll have to bring in somebody from a different area, which is not very efficient.”
As for Coram, she said her RDCRS office is doing the best it can to recruit more bus drivers through social media, a driver referral program and speaking to parent groups.
“It's just so important to be able to support our families and get their children to school,” said Coram. “They rely on us to do that.”
