OSTA looking at a number of solutions to address bus driver shortage

As of Thursday, Oct. 5, the Ottawa Student Transportation Authority (OSTA) in a letter to parents, said there is currently a shortage of 71 bus drivers in Ottawa, down from 130 in September.

OSTA said it has received 332 applications as part of its recruitment campaign, which have now been forwarded to operators for further processing. So far, OSTA said, 12 drivers have been hired, 20 currently are in training.

“OSTA acknowledges the frustration of parents and students impacted by the on-going school bus driver shortage in Ottawa,” said OSTA in a statement sent to parents on Oct. 5. “We apologize for the hardship caused by the continued cancellations. Over the past 48 hours, the OSTA Board of Directors has been working to implement solutions quickly and effectively. We have also undertaken several internal exercises to ensure that we communicate more proactively with parents and students, and we would like to take this opportunity to provide further details about the on-going shortage of school bus drivers and additional solutions.”

OSTA noted when it signs a contract with a transportation provider, that provider is contractually obligated to provide enough drivers to meet the transportation needs of the school boards.

“Due to the driver shortage, the providers are penalized through withheld payments for services not provided,” the statement to parents continued. “The OSTA board of directors is repurposing those withheld payments to fund other solutions that result in new, available drivers from other transportation operators in the Ottawa region. We will provide parents and students with an update once these solutions are finalized.”

The OSTA board of directors has received reports of families facing significant financial difficulties. To address these situations, the Ottawa Catholic School Board (OCSB) and the Ottawa-Carleton District School Board (ODSB) encourage families experiencing crisis situations to contact their school principals who will work with these families to find solutions.

OSTA’s board of directors is announcing the launch of a Parent and Community Subcommittee to address the shortage of school bus drivers. The subcommittee will comprise OSTA, OCDSB and OCSB representatives, parents, operators, retired bus drivers, and local political leaders.

Please see below a statement by the Ottawa Student Transportation Authority (OSTA) Board of Directors regarding further details about the ongoing shortage of school bus drivers and additional solutions.

Link: https://t.co/tQHHpvhdQc

— OSTA (@OttSchoolBus) October 5, 2023

Chandra Pasma, member pf provincial parliament (MPP) for Ottawa West-Nepean and education critic for the New Democratic Party (NDP), said the Ministry of Education’s new funding formula for transportation is a key factor behind Ottawa’s school bus driver shortage.

The Ministry of Education’s eight per cent funding cuts for the city’s school bus transportation coincides with school boards having to renegotiate their contracts with bus companies, said Pasma on The Sam Laprade Show.

Ontario’s NDP is calling on the Ontario government to expedite the approval of medical reports for potential bus drivers to fill the driver shortage in Ottawa.

“You had bus companies coming to OSTA saying we can’t afford to do this anymore unless you give us more money,” she explained. “The Ministry of Education is taking away money from OSTA and that’s left them in a terrible position where it’s incredibly difficult for them to cover costs.”

She goes on to say, other factors behind the bus driver shortage include soaring costs related to inflation, unattractive work hours, and low wages.

According to Pasma, the province has denied any responsibility and pointed the blame in all directions except themselves.

“They refused to come to the table and actually discuss the need for appropriate levels of funding,” she added. “They did provide one-time funding to the Ottawa school boards this year of only 1.8 million, so it’s less than a third of what they cut.”

The Ministry of Education and school boards agreed to a third party review of OSTA, and the review is currently underway by a consultant, explained Pasma.

“That review might identify changes that need to be made within OSTA, it could be the senior leadership – but at the end of the day, no review is going to make up for the fact that there’s been an eight per cent funding cut at a time where costs are increasing significantly,” she pointed out.

In a letter addressed to Minister of Transportation, Hon. Prabmeet Singh Sarkaria, Pasma wrote that medical report processing delays from the Ministry of Transportation for dozens of potential Ottawa school bus drivers has slowed the process in delivering drivers’ licences.

Dozens of medical reports for potential school bus drivers in Ottawa are facing processing delays from the Ministry of Transportation. Licenses have not been delivered to these folks who are needed to help catch up with the serious shortages facing Ottawa school boards.

1/3 pic.twitter.com/KDAJTXnMo6

— Chandra Pasma (@ChandraPasma) October 4, 2023

Nour Kadri, professor at the University of Ottawa and former candidate for mayor in the 2022 municipal election, is weighing in on the matter. He’s calling on the city and upper levels of government to take more action in resolving Ottawa’s bus driver shortage.

Kadri told The Sam Laprade Show earlier this week, it appears that transit issues in the nation’s capital are ‘contagious,’ facing both light rail transit and school bus transportation challenges.

“We’re the only city that has an LRT that doesn’t work, where we have challenges with OC Transpo and now with OSTA and school buses,” he said.

OSTA released a statement apologizing for failing to resolve driver shortages, especially in rural communities, prior to the beginning of the school year.

“We understand there have been challenges with our student transportation system and we want to assure you that OSTA staff is working diligently to address these issues,” explained OSTA’s board of directors, adding that “We are making progress and we are committed to finding alternate transportation solutions for those who are currently without service.”

The apology comes following OSTA announcing a leave of absence for its chief administrative officer (CAO), Vicky Kyriaco, who had been facing calls to resign after a turbulent start to the school year, with over 9,000 students without school bus transportation.

The transportation authority announced the board of directors appointed Cindy Owens as interim manager who set to take the reigns next Tuesday, Oct. 10.

While Ottawa’s school bus driver recruitment has been at an all-time low since the COVID-19 pandemic, many routes have been cancelled, especially in rural areas.

Additionally, in the case where a school bus driver falls ill, there’s often no replacement – leaving parents to find alternative arrangements at the last minute.

Goldie Ghamari, MPP for Carleton, told The Sam Laprade Show that 75-to-80 per cent of school bus cancellations reported in Ontario are occurring in Ottawa with OSTA.

Another recent statistic shows that roughly 86 per cent of school bus cancellations in the province have been reported by OSTA, she added.

“How is it that the majority of route cancellations are happening in Ottawa with OSTA,” expressed Ghamari.

From an operational perspective, correcting the school bus driver shortage will require treatment of the root causes of the problem, explained Kadri.

“When you have drivers that are leaving, not being given their rights and there are challenges in collective agreements, it has to do with the employee-employer relationship.”

Kadri is calling on upper levels of government to invest more in driver recruitment, training and scheduling.

“There are issues everywhere (other cities), but they’re not to the same extent Ottawa is facing,” said Kadri, adding that “We need to go back to the books and treat the root causes of the problem, and that’s not what’s happening with the schools boards or OC Transpo in the city and upper levels of government.”

The professor explained that while Ottawa has seen steady population growth, a school bus driver shortage wasn’t a challenge five-to-ten years ago.

“I believe the issue is in the management of operations and dealing with collective agreement challenges,” he added. Wage increases could also provide more incentive and improve school bus driver retention.