Have a kid signed up for school bus service? You might need to make other arrangements

Parents relying on the bus service to take their kids to and from school might want to start thinking about alternate modes of transportation.

Southwestern Ontario Student Transportation Services (STS), the company that manages school buses in the region, said a lack of bus drivers might cause disruption in the service as of next week when classes resume in the region. 

"Bus companies have reported to us that they have had difficulty attracting and retaining drivers since schools were ordered closed in the Spring," said Maureen Cosyn Heath, the chief administrative officer, in a media release. 

"In some cases, buses may run late or be cancelled for the day," she added.

Cosyn Heath said while bus companies have enough drivers to cover all of the bus routes in the region, they don't have a robust list of supply drivers who can fill in if a regular driver is absent or ill. 

"The companies are reporting that some of the drivers would have health concerns coming back into operating a school bus during COVID and [a shortage in supply drivers] is something that has been experienced in the region over a number of years, but it's obviously worsened by the operating conditions for September," she told CBC News.

STS manages bus service for close to 50,000 students from the Thames Valley District School Board and the London District Catholic School Board. As of last month, about 29,000 of those students had signed up to take the bus to school. 

"We understand that families require reliable transportation for students, and we are disappointed to start the school year with the potential for service disruptions," Cosyn Heath said. 

"Please bear with us and support your local bus contractor, understand they are doing the best they can under a very difficult set of operating conditions for the fall and be prepared to make alternate arrangements as you would in the event of a major snow storm or some other weather event." 

Parents and guardians are being asked to monitor My Big Yellow Bus along with the BusPlanner Delays app to receive notifications on the status of their child's bus. 

Cosyn Heath said service disruptions will be posted as early as possible each day to provide as much notice on delays or cancellations.