WEYBURN - “It’s a high-stress job, no getting around it,” said Andy Dobson, manager of facilities and transportation, when speaking to the Â鶹´«Ã½AV East Cornerstone Public School Division’s trustees on Jan. 15.
There may be issues with difficult riders, the students, parent interventions, weather, and road conditions and mechanical issues.
But, the rewards for school bus drivers may be found on various levels.
Recruitment of these special drivers remains at the top of the Must-Do list for Dobson and his department team.
Drivers retire, school populations grow, routes are cancelled, others are added.
To illustrate some of the challenges, Dobson informed the board members during a short presentation at their open business meeting held in the division’s head office in Weyburn. He said the system currently transports more than half the student population by bus to their designated schools. The number now stands at 4,642, an increase of 118 from his last report issued for the last half of 2024.
Two urban bus routes have been added, one each in Weyburn and Estevan, to accommodate the hike in usage.
Unfilled routes are currently found in Estevan rural, Arcola and three more in the Carlyle region.
Days when buses don’t run are usually due to weather concerns, but on occasion they are caused by mechanical issues (22.5 route days), or not having a substitute driver, (114 route half-days and 558 route days). The weather has resulted in cancellations for 684 full route days since the start of the current academic year, he said.
On the bright side of the picture, Dobson noted that recent attempts to reach out to attract more drivers have resulted in 19 new hirings while there were only three retirements and three resignations.
Drivers can and do overcome some terrible street conditions to deliver their valuable cargo to the school yards, he said.
The recruitment initiatives that include a host of outlets and processes, are perhaps now starting to pay off.
Ads have been placed, newsletters have gone out, directors have reached out, information pamphlets have been handed out at various trade shows and other public venues, bonuses have been given to current drivers who recruit others and so on.
“We do all the training,” Dobson said, referring to the follow up with newly recruited drivers who undergo extensive checks and balances on driving skills and safety issues before achieving their provincial green light status to take on a route.
The drivers quickly become familiar with the equipment on board and mechanical setups of their buses with the assistance of the SECPSD trainers.
“It’s hours of training,” Dobson noted, but the end results provide a safe ride for students whether their school day ride is a typical 20 to 48 minutes on average or as extensive as the 90-minute journey that includes students travelling in the Estevan/Torquay region or the Weyburn/Oungre sector.
Dobson was thanked for his comprehensive report and he noted he will be back to talk with the board members regarding facilities issues during their meeting slated for next month.
