146,000 Alberta Children affected, now with no one to take them to school

Calgary, AB, Oct. 21, 2021 /CNW/ - More than 146,000 Alberta children rely on buses for their transportation to and from school each day. Over the course of the past year, changes to insurance premiums have put bus contractors in an impossible situation, many being forced to park their buses and close their businesses. Without some form of assistance from the Alberta government, bus contractors will continue to shut down their operations.

Keeping buses on the road for safe delivery of children should be a high priority across Alberta, but repeated attempts to contact the Alberta government and, in particular, Minister of Education Adriana LaGrange, have resulted in little to no action.

"Alberta School Bus Contractors are facing a major crisis," said Mark Critch, President of the Alberta School Bus Contractors' Association, "There are immediate and urgent issues that must be addressed for school bus contractors to continue with their mandate of carrying students to their schools. Without the continued flow of adequate funding, carriers will have no choice but to lay off drivers, maintenance staff and administrative staff and in turn shut their operations down."

At issue is a 358% increase in insurance rates for small contracted bus operators, which was implemented in November 2020. The increase in rates is out of the bus contractors' control, as it occurred mid-year in the contracts. The cost of the insurance jumped from $1,300 per bus to $4,300 per bus. Obviously, a high percentage of contractors conducting this highly important but low-paid work do not have the funds to cover this increase.

An increase of this magnitude is affecting all contractors in the province, especially the small to medium size operators. They are in dire need of a solution to this issue, immediately. Without support, children will not have reliable transportation to and from school.

Other issues at hand exacerbate the crisis:

• School divisions do not cover all pandemic-related costs. Drivers required to be in isolation due to close contact with a COVID-19-positive student must have their immediate wages covered. Otherwise, it is unlikely that they will return to the job.

• Due to the pandemic, there are no field or charter trips as an additional revenue source, which previously helped offset indirect costs.

Up to this point, nothing has been done to assist the bus contractors. This must change immediately in order to preserve this vital transportation service for Alberta's children.

About ASBCA

Alberta School Bus Contractors' Association has been in existence since 1958. It has over 85 members and represents more than 4,100 school buses.

SOURCE Alberta School Bus Contractors’ Association

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