Take the wheel and Drive Yellow!

While safe transportation for children to and from school is essential in today’s world, it’s easy to forget how something as simple as a school bus impacts the lives of students, parents, teachers and community members.

School bus drivers are tasked with the vital responsibility of protecting children on their way to and from school. They ensure students are picked up and arrive at school on time, and return home safely every school day.

They are also the ones who give the first smile and “hello” in the morning, wait those few extra seconds for a late student, find lost backpacks and help students settle in their seats.

“Driving kids to school is a small part of the education system but doing anything to help that system, to me, is an important responsibility,” said Bart Tecter, School Bus Driver for Roxborough Bus Lines.

The Ottawa Student Transportation Authority (OSTA) delivers safe and efficient transportation services to over 124,000 students using yellow buses, wheelchair buses, school purpose vans and School Active Transportation programs.

“Drivers play such an important role in providing access to education,'' said Vicky Kyriaco,General Manager/CAO of OSTA. “But right now we need the community's help.”

Exacerbated by COVID 19, there is a critical shortage of school bus drivers in Ottawa.

With a new school year fast approaching, the Ottawa School Transportation Authority needs 70-120 reliable drivers to ensure that Ottawa’s kids get safely to and from school everyday.

OSTA and its Operators have come together to form a Driver Recruitment Task Force to address this problem with a multipronged driver recruitment campaign called “Drive Yellow.” Interested applicants can find out more about the requirements and steps to becoming a driver and apply to several open opportunities on driveyellow.ca.

“This Ottawa-centric Driver Recruitment Task Force is truly pioneering in our industry. It demonstrates how consortia and operators can work together to reach a common goal, while reflecting the unique market conditions within a jurisdiction,” said Troy Phinney, Senior Vice President, Eastern Division, First Student.

Driving a school bus can be a rewarding career.

Drivers enjoy a great work-life balance, have weekends and summers off, the satisfaction of working with kids and contributing to their community in a meaningful way. They also enjoy building relationships in the school community, benefit from workplace teamwork and have an independent work environment that's anything but routine.

OSTA’s School Bus Operators offer full training and flexible opportunities.

If this sounds like a job for you, Take the Wheel and Drive Yellow! Go to the Drive Yellow site for more information or to apply.