KEMPTVILLE, Ontario – In a presentation to the Catholic District School Board of Eastern Ontario (CDSBEO) Student Transportation of Eastern Ontario (STEO) explained that they are facing a shortage of school bus drivers.
STEO is the transportation consortium that provides transportation services for both the CDSBEO and the Upper Canada District School Board of Eastern Ontario. STEO explained their situation in a presentation to the CDSBEO trustees at their meeting on March 6, 2018.
“The shortage is impacting the consistency of school bus drivers on daily routes, as well as availability of charter buses. Normally a bus company would have a driver pool with a ten per cent spare ratio, and a few charter drivers. Right now the charter drivers are driving school routes, the spare drivers are driving school routes, and office staff are helping with school routes,” said Operations Manager Marc Gosset.
Gosset explained that STEO was working closely with the school boards to find solutions to the shortage, which is not unique to Eastern Ontario.
STEO has also recently launched a new BusPlanner Delays App to notify schools and parents of any delays or cancellations of service.
The app is available for Apple and Android through their respective app stores and is free for school staff, parents and guardians.
“Thank you for making this presentation this evening. I do know from representation of our Board on the STEO Committee, Vice-Chair Ron Eamer, Trustee Nancy Kirby and Associate Director Bonnie Norton, continue to update us on the good work happening at STEO and this evening’s presentation certainly reinforces those reports,” concluded Chair Todd Lalonde.
