10,000 Renfrew County students may not have school bus service on first day of classes

Parents and students in Renfrew County are being warned there may not be school buses running on the first day of school for 10,000 students, as contract talks continue between the school bus consortium and providers.

The Renfrew County Joint Transportation Consortium (RCJTC) sent a letter to students and families on Monday, saying it has been unable to reach an agreement with school bus companies to provide the 200 bus routes for the Renfrew County District School Board and the Renfrew County Catholic District School Board.

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The consortium says while it has offered "unprecedented increases to rates," it has been unable to reach an agreement to provide service for 10,000 students in September.

"The most recent contract offers from RCJTC has been rejected by the school bus service companies," Justin Jeffrey, general manager of the Renfrew County Joint Transportation Consortium, said in a statement.

"At this time, school bus companies are refusing to provide service without finalized contracts ahead of the start of school. We understand the negative impact that a lack of student transportation services would have on many families. Getting students safely to school is our primary goal, which is why families and students need to be aware of this situation, in order to consider an alternative plan to get students to school if necessary."

The consortium says the Ministry of Education provided a "substantial increase" to funding for the 2024-25 school year.

"While we will not disclose the details of the discussions, we can state the ask is well over the increased amount provided by the Ministry of Education for the 2024-25 school year’s transportation services and well above an increase that would address cost of living and the increased rate of inflation," the consortium said.

The Renfrew County Joint Transportation Consortium oversees the 200 bus routes to the Renfrew County District School Board and Renfrew County Catholic District School Board, and signs contracts with private school bus providers for services. The school bus companies are responsible for hiring, training and paying individual school bus drivers.

"RCJTC wants to make it clear that we have enormous respect and appreciation for the school bus drivers and the important role they play in students’ education,” Jeffrey said, adding the consortium is "limited in what we can offer" for rate increases.

“While we are hoping for and working toward contract extensions, at issue here is the massive increase to rates the school bus companies are requesting. We have already offered unprecedented and substantial increases. Meeting those requests is impossible within the existing transportation budgets without pulling dollars from schools and student programming."

School bus operators say they have faced 30 to 70 per cent increases in costs to keep buses running. The bus operators say the latest offer from the RCJTC was 12 per cent short.

"Bus operators in neighbouring jurisdictions are receiving rates up to 20 per cent higher than in Renfrew County, but costs to operate buses are the same," Mark Allan, a spokesperson for local bus operators said in a statement.

"It is time for newly appointed Minister of Education Todd Smith to fix broken funding protocols that have left The Renfrew County Joint Transportation Consortium (RCJTC) unwilling to negotiate fairly."

In a media release, the school bus operators said the costs to operate school buses "have skyrocketed" over the past four years, including a 38 per cent increase in driver wages, a 30 per cent hike in insurance rates and bus parts and tires now 50 per cent more expensive.

"Our buses are certified ready to go, our certified drivers, who are trained, dedicated professionals, are ready to go, and we know from years of experience that our Renfrew families are ready to go. But, without a contract, buses won’t run," Allan said.

The consortium says it is exploring "all options" to secure student transportation services, "which may include exploring alternative companies to service our bus routes."

Jeffrey says if a disruption in services appears likely, they will do their best to inform families as early as possible.