The shortage of school bus drivers, which has only worsened since the start of the pandemic, has multiple repercussions on parents and children in several regions of Quebec, who are urging the Legault government to act to remedy the the situation.
Last spring, the union community estimated that about 1,500 drivers were missing across the province, a number that has since increased, according to the president of the School Transportation Sector of the Federation of Public Service Employees (FEESP). -CSN), Josée Dubé. To the point where many parents who live in particular in Montreal and its suburbs have reported to the Duty that school outings have been canceled in recent months due to this shortage, while children simply no longer have access to school transportation to get to class five days a week.
“Before, we were able to make our circuits and find last-minute solutions” when bus drivers were missing in certain places, notes the vice-president of the public sector of the Federation of bus carriers, which represents employers. of school bus drivers in the province, Caroline Vallée.
However, now, some carriers “can no longer cover the circuits” in different regions of Quebec, even after having called on mechanics or office workers to try to temporarily compensate for the absence of drivers, confides- she at Duty. “At some point, we have no choice but to realize that the circuit cannot be done,” adds Mme Valley.
Thus, “some children have had no school transportation for months,” also indicates Josée Dubé, herself a school bus driver for 16 years.
Kim Bénard, who has lived in Sainte-Julienne since December 23, says one of her sons has missed two and a half weeks of school since the start of the year due to the shortage of school bus drivers. The mother of the family not being able to drive, it was finally a neighbor who volunteered to transport the child to his lessons five days a week. “It’s a bit deplorable because my boy was good at school before he missed two and a half weeks,” sighs Mme Bénard, who claims to have questioned the Quebec Ministry of Education about this situation, “without success”.
Sofia Giunti, who lives in Saint-Lin-Laurentides, in Lanaudière, has also suffered several times from the shortage of school bus drivers in recent months. “The children showed up at the stop and the bus did not pass”, launches the mother of the family. She had to drive 30 minutes to bring her children to their secondary school in Saint-Roch-de-l’Achigan. “They even missed days of school because I had to show up at the office,” says the mother. It was really stressful. »
“It’s been a difficult year,” also says Jacynthe Caron, a resident of Saint-Michel. Since the beginning of the year, she has been informed a few times, the day before or even the same day, that no school bus would pick up her son to take him to his elementary school. A school trip was also canceled recently due to the shortage of drivers, she said.
A job to value
At the heart of this shortage are poor pay conditions for bus drivers, who also struggle with complex work schedules. “We have difficulty being competitive in school transportation in terms of salaries”, which are often only a few dollars above the minimum wage, recognizes Caroline Vallée, of the Federation of Bus Carriers.
Joined by The duty, the office of the Minister of Education, Bernard Drainville, recalls that the Government of Quebec launched a financial assistance program in September 2020 “aimed at granting retention and attraction bonuses to drivers”. School contracts were also improved last fall.
“In total, we have increased funding for school transportation by nearly $130 million over last year. In concrete terms, it’s $2,400 in the pockets of a driver,” adds the firm, which thus ensures that it has not remained “idle” in the face of the shortage of school bus drivers.
What goes down into our pockets, there isn’t much left.
Caroline Vallée affirms for her part that the increase in funding for school transportation carried out by Quebec, “it does not cover all our expenses”. Carriers, she recalls, are facing both the increase in fuel prices in recent months and the high purchase price of electric vehicles that they must obtain to meet the new requirements of the Legault government.
“What goes down into our pockets, there isn’t much left,” summarizes trade unionist Josée Dubé. The school bus driver also notes that many of her colleagues are regularly solicited by other companies, such as public transit companies, which offer much more competitive salaries. Yet school bus drivers do hard work that involves driving while managing children who can’t always sit still, illustrates Mme Dubé, who believes that this profession deserves to be more “valued”.
A bus driver who lives in Lanaudière told the Duty having noticed that vehicles are sometimes filled beyond their legal capacity. This is 72 primary or 48 secondary students per school bus. “A lot of times I’ll manage to take more,” she said on condition of anonymity, as she is not authorized by her employer to speak to the media.
School bus drivers are feeling the pressure on their shoulders due to the shortage, prompting other drivers to throw in the towel. “Each year, we are asked for more, but we are not given more,” sighs another driver, who also requested anonymity. It’s probably my last year as a bus driver, because it’s very demanding and not very rewarding. »