Families in Renfrew County likely won't have school buses to start the school year

The school bus authority that covers Renfrew County and the group that represents bus drivers both say there likely won't be any school bus service for around 10,000 students when classes resume next week unless something drastically changes.

The contract between school bus operators and the Renfrew County Joint Transportation Consortium (RCJTC) has expired and contract negotiations have stalled.

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In a statement Monday, the Renfrew County School Bus Operators group said the RCJTC has refused to negotiate a long-term catch-up contract and grant access to a computerized planning system for bus routing.

"The decision by RCJTC not to negotiate and to lock us out of the system is an underhanded blow to our ability to ensure safe and timely transportation for students," said Alan Jackson, spokesperson for the school bus operators. "And now, we're losing drivers. Some are actively looking for other jobs and others have already been forced to secure other work to make ends meet for their families. This is making the situation even more critical, since it's very difficult to attract new drivers to begin with."

Justin Jeffrey, General Manager of the RCJTC, said in response that the bus operators are demanding a finalized contract before the start of the school year.

"This is an annual process, and in the past, there was a mutual understanding that transportation services for students would be available to start the school year, while details of the contracts were finalized. For the first time ever, the school bus service companies are refusing to provide service until the contract extensions are finalized – as a result, a disruption to school bus service is likely at the start of the school year," he said in an email to CTV News Ottawa.

Jeffrey said the route planning system contains personal information of students and families.

"For privacy reasons we cannot provide access to that information to any company without contracts in place with RCJTC," he said.

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Jackson said buses likely won't be available until October at the earliest unless something changes.

"We've put out the timeline for October. It could be sooner. It all depends on if we get back to the table and we hammer it out over the next four or five days," he said.

Parents are now left to wonder whether their kids will be able to get to school. 

"Here we are, five business days until school starts, and our kids don't have buses," said Chantelle Regier, a local parent. "We're stressing as parents how to get our kids back and forth to school. It's just sad. It's public education. We need to get our children back and forth to school. And school busses are our only option."

Bus operators are calling on the consortium to come back to the table. 

"The Operators are calling on the Consortium to immediately return to negotiations and present the security of long-term agreement that can provide funding stability for the parents and children, now forced to scramble to find safe and reliable transportation for the first month of school," a news release said.

Operating costs are the central issue. The RCJTC says they're offering a 12 per cent funding increase, but bus operators say costs have increased between 30 and 70 per cent since the pandemic. The consortium maintains it cannot offer any more money without the school boards making cuts elsewhere.

"There has been no movement from any of the school bus service companies that would lead to agreements on new contract extensions and alternative options will not be in place fast enough to see buses on the roads from other service providers," the RCJTC told families in a letter Tuesday.

Jackson said Renfrew County Bus Lines had to replace six buses, at a cost of $1 million. Wages for drivers are up more than 30 per cent, and the cost of parts is up between 50 and 300 per cent, he said.

"It's all about operational costs," Jackson said, speaking with Newstalk 580 CFRA's Ottawa at Work with Patricia Boal. "We can't operate if we don't have enough money to operate."

In the meantime, the RCJTC is telling families to be prepared to make alternate arrangements to get kids to school.

"We understand how stressful this situation is for families and the RCJTC continues to explore all options to see school bus service in place for students. We have issued a Request For Supplier Qualifications (RFSQ) in hopes of securing transportation services from other companies," Jeffrey said. 

To date, the RCJTC says it has secured contracts for five minivan routes in the region. 

"The RFSQ has garnered interest and the consortium will continue to have conversations with any company that is interested in providing service to students within Renfrew County," said Jeffrey in an email to CTV News Ottawa.

The Renfrew County District School Board and the Renfrew County Catholic District School Board issued a joint statement Tuesday echoing comments by the RCJTC on the limits of available funds, adding they support the consortium's plan to seek alternate options.

"We have the utmost appreciation and respect for the local school bus drivers who play an important role in our communities, and the educational experiences of our students," the school boards said. "In prioritizing the needs of students and their families, RCJTC is asking that the school bus service companies agree to continue to provide student transportation services for the start of school while they continue discussions. The RCJTC is exploring all options to see buses transporting students on September 4th, and we support their ongoing efforts. These efforts include exploring alternative companies to service our bus routes."

Parents, meanwhile, say driving their kids to school isn't always feasible. 

"I have to be at my school for 8:30 and the school doesn’t open for him till 9:00, so getting him there is going to be impossible," said local parent Lindsay Gahan. "My husband goes to work for 7:00, so that's not feasible for us."