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Ey day, December 8, 2022 | 2 5 insidehalton.com BB NEWS EFFORTS BEING TAKEN TO RECRUIT NEW DRIVERS Continued from page 1 lays ona number of routes rtatic Services (HSTS) general manage! David Colley. Pa e part of his family's daily routine. “For over two months, they haven't had enough drivers and the bus keeps getting late by 40 to 45 min- utes," he said. "We can't wait outside that long, es- pecially in the cold." Colley said that while some routes have seen oc- casional delays of up to 45 minutes, the average watt time has been around 1 minutes. Servicing nearly 31,000 students per day, HSTSisa non-profit transportation apes p providing bus: trict § School Board GaSE) and Halton Catholic Dis- trict School Board (HCDSB) students since 2008. ie company contracts a total of 476 bus routes to five companies across the region — ideally requiring 476 permanent drivers, plus 10 per cent substitute drivers for optimal opera- novvith a high percentage of school bus drivers over the age of 60 — an age de- mographic known to be more vulnerable to CO- Owned & Operated By FirstCanada ULC VID-19 — companies saw countless absences during the pandemic. "We currently more than 30 drivers," ea Colley. "Every bus route ent driver and if the driver: leaves the industry, the position for that route will be open.” le zation appoints multiple drivers — often up to three individuals — to cover each open route with mini- mum del While ‘lose to three doz- en routes have been affect- ed by the driver shortage, residents like Amit Kumar said they're fortunate not to have been impacted. HCDSB chair Marvin Duarte and HDSB chair Margo Shuttleworth said the school boards staff have implemented a num- ber of strategies to recruit Reeti M. Ronila/ Metroland Many students, including Ansh Babaria, have been dealing with ongoing wait times for thei school bus. and retain drivers. This includes joint news re- leases, emails to families, school website features and social media cam- aigns. "In addition to the chal- lenges we face because of the driver shortage, buses can be late due to a variety of reasons, including traf- fic, delays at schools, the occasional § mechanical breakdown and driver ab- sences due to illness, etc.,” said Duarte. In the budgets approved for the 2022-23 school year, the HCDSB set aside ap- proximately ™M and the SB spent around $20.3M for HSTS. A Halton school bus part-time work to consider ecoming a school bus iver. To worl rk as a school bus driver, an applicant must haveaclean driving record and be at least 21 years of age to qualify for a class B licence. “The school bus is not: as scary as it looks about the mindset," * eal Winata. "I was intimidated by the size of the school bus before. On my first day of training, I was scared thatI would get fired ... but once yous gett the he training, it'snot ing four to five hours a ae split between mornings an fernoons, Winata appreciates the op- portunity to bring her chil- dren on the bus instead of kids with me and it's good to show them what mom- my does. I think I seta good example for my kids that leaving them alone," she said. “We remain hopeful that in time the situation will improve.” - HDSB chair Margo Shuttleworth As bus companies con- tinue to train and recruit, Colley said they now have re drivers available compared to the first week remain ” hopeful the situation willimprove," said Shuttle- worth. Anyone looking to work as a school bus driver can contact one of the five com- panies contracted by HSTS, including Attridge Transportation, First Stu- gent Elliott Coach eames. Carty Tran: ion en Voyago aoa tation. STORY BEHIND THE STORY: With Halton see- ing an ongoing bus driver shortage, we wanted to explore how this is impact- ing local families a what's being done to ad- dress the issue. Oke aI SCAN TH for more local news. Simple Cremation Package Includes All disbursements & Crematorium Fees - Monthly Payments Starting at *45 CREMATIONHELP.ca ».X. DERMODY by 905-512-5799 « info@cremationhelp.ca tion