Hamilton schools to start rotating bus cancellations amid driver shortage and lengthy delays

Hamilton school boards will implement a rotation of cancelled bus routes oas it struggles to overcome an unprecedented bus driver shortage.

The schedule for the rotating cancellations will be released Sept. 28.

The rotation will try to alleviate delays from17 cancelled busroutes.

The schedule will also include a regular rotation to addressroutes with delays longer than 60 minutes andhigh school runs with 30-minutedelays to ensure students aren't late for class.

"The strategy will cancel routes on a prescheduled rotating basis, allowing families to make alternate transportation plans for their children during their route rotation," readsthe release fromHamilton-Wentworth Student Transportation Services (HWSTS).

The cancellationschedule is being finalized and will be shared later this week.

This follows a week full of daily delays. Most days have seen more than 100 delayed routes, many of them for an hour or more.

Between15 and 18 bus routes were cancelled last week, which affected students at11 Catholic schoolsand 17 public schools.

Last week, the boards said they were missing59 drivers for mornings and 67 for afternoons.

Pat Daly, chairperson of the Hamilton-Wentworth Catholic District School Board,told CBC on Wednesday students are showing up very late for class.

He said the HWSTShas been discussing multiple plans, none of which are favourable.He called the planned cancellations an "extraordinary" step by the school boards.

"Everyone is doing all they can but the bus driver shortage is so challenging, so that's a reality," he said.

"It's hard on staff but most especially inconvenient and disruptive for parents and students ... unfortunately we can't create, instantaneously, more bus drivers."

Alex Johnstone, chair of the public board, calledit a "regrettable" situation.

"We foresaw a situation like this happening, and even with our increased funding to transportation, we need the support of the provincial government. This is an issue that I have been, and continue to raise with the Ministry of Education since July," she said in the release.

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