Staffing shortages for school bus drivers sometimes lead to service cancellations, making it hard for some students to go to school.
The president of the Sea to Sky School District's school workers said that bus driver staffing is a challenge as a result of a number of vacant positions.
"The union believes the difficulty attracting applicants is due to the low wage rate, low daily hours being offered and split shift schedules," said Christina Forsyth, president of CUPE 779 in an emailed statement.
One example of a shift, she said, is a four-hour position that runs from 7 a.m. to 9 a.m., then later between 2 p.m. and 4 p.m.
Forsyth noted the union is aware the District is trying what it called stop-gap measures, like providing public bus passes and working with local public transit on scheduling.
However, she said, this doesn't address the root issue of recruitment.
"The school district needs to make the bus driver positions more attractive to applicants, so the positions can be filled and they are then able to provide reliable bus services for students," Forsyth said in her statement.
During the public school board meeting held on Dec. 8, the issue was raised, and staff acknowledged the shortage.
"Yes, we've had a number of bus cancellations both in the north, the very north, Whistler and Squamish area. The primary reason for this is due to a lack of drivers and not for lacking trying," said deputy superintendent Marilyn Caldwell.
"It's been a staffing issue for us. The shortages are due to our entire on-call fleet of drivers…working full-time, while we're looking for alternate drivers to be backups for them."
As a result, she said there aren't any backup workers for absent drivers.
In the meantime, during shortages, drivers are being allocated to catchment areas farthest away from schools, and this may cause catchment areas closest to schools to miss some service, she said.
SD48 has been advertising positions through social media and Mountain FM, and have even offered support staff — such as educational assistants — the opportunity to train as a bus driver, if they can work those shifts without interrupting their normal jobs, Caldwell added.
In a follow-up email, SD48 spokesperson Jennifer Morris said many drivers work two hours in the morning and two hours in the afternoon. In the time in between, they do other work for the school district, adding up to a full day of work.
However, they are also trying to fill several four-hour-a-day postings, each that will work 10 months per year.
"These positions, given the high cost of living in the Sea to Sky area, are difficult to fill. Our spare pool of drivers, which helps accommodate any driver absences or shortages, are also unfilled for similar reasons," said Morris.
"Furthermore, due to the pandemic, many drivers have opted out of this work entirely. All these factors have contributed to a concerning driver shortage resulting in challenges to providing regular bus service to our school district. This driver shortage has been evidenced in school districts across B.C. and in other provinces."
She said that SD48 is currently doing whatever it can to address the shortage.
"We are offering incentives to new drivers by offering free training, including a vehicle and a sponsored driver, as well as an attractive benefits package," said Morris. "We are advertising extensively using social media, digital, print and radio advertising opportunities"
She also noted that BC Transit offers free bus passes to students under 12, and the District of Squamish has established the safe routes to school program, which shows the best ways students can walk to class.
