Hope is lost that there will be bus transportation available for Renfrew County students when they return to school next week, say Renfrew County’s school operators.
There has been no movement in a contract dispute between the Renfrew County Joint Transportation Consortium (RCJTC) and the region’s school bus operators, whose spokesperson Alan Jackson warns that without immediate action, buses may not be operational on all routes until October.
Jackson said the consortium has failed to meet a crucial deadline for adequately funding school bus operations, destroying any hopes of school bus services on the first day of class next Wednesday. The school bus operators have been locked out of the digital route planning system, he said.
“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 Jackson. “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.”
The School Bus Operators group is made up of a number of local bus companies, including Renfrew County Bus Lines, Valley Transportation, Vaudry Bus Lines, Skelhorn Bus Lines, Holly Bus Lines and Musclow Bus Lines.
The bus operators say the since the pandemic, costs have increased dramatically, and the modest increase provided them doesn’t come close to meeting their needs.
Jackson said the cost of buses is now 71 higher, parts, tires and brakes are 50 per cent more expensive, driver wages are up 38 per cent and insurance is costing 30 per cent more.
Jackson also said operators, as a group, are willing to sit down for further negotiations.
Officials at RCJTC and the school boards have said meeting the operators’ demands is impossible within the existing transportation budgets without pulling dollars from schools and student programming.
They are reporting that they continue to explore all options to see school buses transporting students at the start of the school year, including alternative school bus service companies that could run routes across Renfrew County. A ‘Request For Supplier Qualifications’ has been issued and officials say they are considering all options as well as welcoming further discussion with the traditional service companies.
RCJTC has advised families and households to plan ahead for alternatives in the event school bus service is not in place for the first day of school on Sept. 4.
Classes resume this week at the county’s French schools, which operate under a different set of contracts that are not associated with the RCJTC.
(Written by Sherry Haaima)