With the brand new faculty yr quick approaching, 10,000 college students in Renfrew County could possibly be with out faculty bus transportation come September.
The contract between faculty bus operators and the Renfrew County Joint Transportation Consortium (RCJTC) has expired.
Contract negotiations between the events has damaged off, with the beginning of the brand new faculty yr within the Ottawa Valley simply three weeks away.
For households like Lessia Stefanison’s, whose daughter will likely be beginning grade one within the fall, it is a massive disruption to their routine.
“It is simply deflating as a result of we have gone via so many disruptions up to now 4 years now,” the mom of two tells Ontario Chronicle.
“This was going to be the yr the place the children have been totally impartial with getting on and off the bus, and that adjustments all the things.”
Faculty bus drivers in Renfrew County say working prices have elevated between 30 and 70 per cent because the pandemic. The newest provide from the RCJTC fell 12 per cent wanting what operators say is required.
“What they’re providing us does not come anyplace close to what we’re attempting to recoup from Covid years,” mentioned Alan Jackson, director of Renfrew County Bus Strains, talking on behalf of the county’s bus operators.
“This yr alone we’ve six 2011 (buses) which can be being changed, and that may are available in at $1 million. So that they’ve gone up since Covid 71 per cent.”
In a press release, RCJTC Common Supervisor Justin Jeffrey mentioned the consortium is proscribed in what it might probably provide, including, “assembly these requests is not possible inside the present transportation budgets with out pulling {dollars} from colleges and scholar programming.”
Jackson additionally expressed frustrations saying that bus operators in neighbouring jurisdictions are being provided considerably extra money.
“Renfrew County, geographically, is the most important space in Ontario, and we’re minimal 20 per cent beneath everyone else round us for funding.”
Seven bus operators in Renfrew County serviced 200 routes final yr to 52 colleges. Jackson says buses and drivers within the county are able to go for Sept. 4, the primary day of the college yr.
However except a deal might be struck, will probably be the mother and father transporting college students.
“If there is not any buses and everyone’s dropping off their children, the city’s not arrange very nicely for everyone doing automotive drop offs,” says Stefanison.
