THUNDER BAY – School bus operator Iron Range Bus Lines says it’s confident in back-to-school plans for the upcoming school year.
While physical distancing won’t be possible with buses authorized to run at full capacity, general manager Eric Lehto said the back-to-school plan will include the use of masks and other PPE, as well as additional cleaning.
“We’re confident in what we’re doing, and hopefully parents are as well,” he said. “Certainly we feel that if the Ministry of Education and the [Thunder Bay District] Health Unit is allowing us to go back to work, it’s a safe place to be.”
Iron Range contracts with Student Transportation Services of Thunder Bay (STSTB), a consortium representing the public, Catholic, and French Catholic school boards.
The consortium announced Friday that school buses would be allowed to operate at normal capacity. That can run as high as 70 students for children up to Grade 6, who can be placed three to a seat, or 48 students for children in Grade 7 and higher, who can only ride two to a seat.
The actual number of children riding school buses this year was not yet known, as school boards were still in the process of collecting and assessing information from parents on Monday.
STSTB had indicated it was preparing for possible restrictions of one child per seat as recently as late July, while the Ministry of Education had also indicated school bus capacity could be reduced.
In a Facebook post on Friday, STSTB said chronic bus driver shortages made that impossible.
“Simply put, there is not enough ‘extra school buses’ available across the province to reduce the number of children riding each one and, with the severe driver shortage in the school bus industry over the past few years, there would be no one to drive them even if we could double or triple the number of buses,” the post reads. “We also anticipate an increase this year in the number of school bus drivers that don’t return”
However, Lehto said while recruiting bus drivers is an ongoing challenge, he didn’t anticipate any unusual shortages this year.
“We think we’re in good shape,” he said. “We can always use some more drivers – there’s a shortage across Canada as it is. But in terms of logistics, we feel quite confident and we’re ready to go… I wouldn’t say it’s any different than any other year.”
Lehto reported minimal concerns from drivers over COVID-19 safety issues, saying most were looking forward to seeing kids again.
“There’s always going to be some concerns,” he said. “The majority of drivers aren’t worried, but there are certainly some that are asking questions. We hope the safety protocols being put in place [will] alleviate a lot of those issues for drivers and parents.”
Those protocols include personal protective equipment (PPE) including masks, face shields, gloves, and more provided to drivers by the government – though mask wearing won’t be mandatory for drivers, Lehto said.
Students in Grades 4 and up will be required to wear masks (with medical and accessibility exemptions), while younger children are strongly encouraged to do so.
High-touch areas on buses will be cleaned twice per day, including between morning and afternoon runs, by drivers. School boards have indicated they will work with contractors to cover additional costs for the cleaning, though details of the arrangment had not yet been ironed out as of Monday.
