The general manager of the Renfrew County Joint Transportation Consortium says he is sympathetic to the plight of families left scrambling without bus service when students return to school next week.
The contract between school bus operators and the consortium expired in June and negotiations have stalled.
Jeffrey said the consortium had been working tirelessly in an effort to not disrupt service and secure a new contract, to no avail.
Over the last school year, said Jeffrey, the consortium worked closely with the ministry to relay the concerns surrounding transportation funding.
The bus operators say their costs have increased some 30-70 per cent in the years since the pandemic, forcing them to reject the 12 per cent offered most recently in negotiations. They’ve asked for the Ministry of Education to intervene and suggested school boards or the province might be able to access reserves to help make up some of the difference.
Jeffrey said in the past RCJTC has worked collaboratively with the bus companies and that all provincial transportation funds are translated into contracts.
RCJTC has said meeting the school bus operators’ demands is impossible without affecting schools and student programming.
The consortium has issued a Request For Supplier Qualifications (RFSQ) in hopes of securing transportation services from other companies and Jeffrey said there has been some interest. Jeffrey said the consortium is also willing to sit down with the school bus operators in an effort to come to an agreement.
Jeffrey also addressed the school bus operators’ claims that they had been locked out of the digital route planning systems, saying that for privacy reasons, RCJTC will not share the personal information of students and families with any company that does not have a contract in place with the consortium.
The situation affects about 10,000 students in Renfrew County, the largest geographic area in the province.
(Written by Sherry Haaima)