Monday, March 18, 2024

Hamilton school boards may be dealing with a shortage of school bus drivers again this fall

First Published:

Hamilton’s public and catholic school boards are not short on school bus drivers yet…

“however we know similar to last year and the year before, around this time we tend to learn of drivers who drop off, so we are expecting delays at the beginning of the school year.”

Public school board chair Todd White says the primary problem is lack of transportation funding.

“I’m not sure ministry funding has caught up to the expenses in the industry for school bus companies”.

White says school bus companies also have trouble retaining the drivers they have. Last year Education Minister Mitzie Hunter tasked an executive panel with sorting out the problems, but nothing was resolved.

Last year’s minimum wage increase was also difficult for bus companies to manage. The school board says it may have to look beyond trying to recruit and retain drivers and stop relying on black and yellow school busses. It may eventually mean students use the city bus or walk to school if it’s safe to do so.

The school board says students may be affected in the same way they were last year. There were no cancellations but some routes, some days, had delays of 10 minutes to up to 40 minutes.

Parents can sign up for alerts to find out if their child’s bus will be delayed.

More Top News

Day 1 of inquest into death of man during arrest in Brantford

Today was the first day of a coroner’s inquest into the 2019 death of a man who died inside a Brantford hotel room while...

Evening weather forecast for March 18, 2024

Steve Ruddick shares the forecast for March 18, 2024.

2 Niagara residents charged in armed Burlington bank robbery

Two Niagara residents are facing multiple charges in connection with an armed bank robbery in Burlington that led to a standoff with Halton police...

Suspect photo shared, vehicle recovered in Jackson Square fatal shooting

Hamilton police have released a blurry suspect photo and recovered the vehicle involved in the shooting death of a 19-year-old man near Jackson Square...

Crombie rules out provincial carbon tax as part of 2026 Ontario election platform

Ontario Liberal Leader Bonnie Crombie said Monday that if she is premier after the 2026 election, she will not introduce a provincial carbon tax...

3 men arrested with drugs, handgun and stolen vehicle: Niagara police

Niagara police say they were able to nab three men and charge them with a slew of offences after they were caught driving a...