Ottawa Student Transportation Authority facing 'severe' school bus driver shortage
The Ottawa Student Transportation Authority is looking to hire 60 new school bus drivers, as it faces a "severe" driver shortage less than three weeks before the start of the school year.
The consortium that delivers student transportation to more than 60,000 students in Ottawa is looking at shifting some students to OC Transpo buses and merging low ridership routes to make sure kids can get to school starting September 7.
"There has been a school bus shortage for a long time, but, of course, it's been exacerbated now by the pandemic," said Vicky Kyriaco with the Ottawa Student Transportation Authority.
"So we did have a significant driver shortage last year, we were missing almost 100 drivers. This year we're at about 60 drivers short and still looking for ways to change the way that we've organized our routes so that we can take advantage of other types of modes of transportation and see how we can get kids to schools in other ways."
The Ottawa Student Transportation Authority says local operators are searching for new drivers who are looking for part-time work, that includes morning and afternoon routes. Bus drivers earn $15 to 20 an hour, training is free and the ministry is offering bonuses.
Kyriaco says there is no mandatory COVID-19 vaccine policy for drivers.
"There's no mandatory vaccination for bus drivers right now. Although there is a policy in play that's going to be assisting us to collect information about who is actually vaccinated and who is going to require the rapid testing on a regular basis if they haven't been vaccinated yet," said Kyriaco.
SCHOOL BUS ROUTE CHANGES
The Ottawa Student Transportation Authority says due to the driver shortage, additional planning is needed to adjust routes while ensuring all safety measures meet and/or exceed ministry guidelines.
Kyriaco says the authority is working with operators and OC Transpo on "creative solutions" to get as many students to school as possible.
"The first thing that we really looked at was which kids from Grades 7 to 12 could be switched over to public transit. So we did speak to OC Transpo just to see where they might have some capacity issues if we do transfer about 4,000 kids and that work is happening right now," said Kyriaco.
"We are adding some coaches and congregated stops for some high school students out in the rural areas. We're moving some low ridership buses together to create one long run."
The parent portal will open on Aug. 27 at 4 p.m.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Indian envoy warns of 'big red line,' days after charges laid in Nijjar case
India's envoy to Canada insists relations between the two countries are positive overall, despite what he describes as 'a lot of noise.'
Stormy Daniels describes meeting Trump during occasionally graphic testimony in hush money trial
With Donald Trump sitting just feet away, Stormy Daniels testified Tuesday at the former president's hush money trial about a sexual encounter the porn actor says they had in 2006 that resulted in her being paid to keep silent during the presidential race 10 years later.
U.S. paused bomb shipment to Israel to signal concerns over Rafah invasion, official says
The U.S. paused a shipment of bombs to Israel last week over concerns that Israel was approaching a decision on launching a full-scale assault on the southern Gaza city of Rafah against the wishes of the U.S.
Former homicide detective explains how police will investigate shooting outside Drake's Bridle Path mansion
Footage from dozens of security cameras in the area of Drake’s Bridle Path mansion could be the key to identifying the suspect responsible for shooting and seriously injuring a security guard outside the rapper’s sprawling home early Tuesday morning, a former Toronto homicide detective says.
Northern Ont. woman makes 'eggstraordinary' find
A chicken farmer near Mattawa made an 'eggstraordinary' find Friday morning when she discovered one of her hens laid an egg close to three times the size of an average large chicken egg.
Susan Buckner, who played spirited cheerleader Patty Simcox in 'Grease,' dead at 72
Susan Buckner, best known for playing peppy Rydell High School cheerleader Patty Simcox in the 1978 classic movie musical 'Grease,' has died. She was 72.
Jeremy Skibicki has 'uphill battle' to prove he's not criminally responsible in Winnipeg killings: legal analysts
Accused killer Jeremy Skibicki could have a challenging time convincing a judge that he is not criminally responsible for the deaths of four Indigenous women, a legal analyst says.
Bye-bye bag fee: Calgary repeals single-use bylaw
A Calgary bylaw requiring businesses to charge a minimum bag fee and only provide single-use items when requested has officially been tossed.
Alcohol believed to be a factor in boating incident after 2 men die: N.S. RCMP
Two Nova Scotia men are dead after a boat they were travelling in sank in the Annapolis River in Granville Centre, N.S., on Monday.