THUNDER BAY — Some parents found themselves making alternate arrangements to get their children to school as classes resumed Wednesday in Thunder Bay's public and separate school systems.
According to information posted by Student Transportation Services of Thunder Bay — the consortium that oversees bussing contracted to private companies — seven runs were cancelled because a driver was unavailable.
Although only three bus routes were impacted because drivers were unavailable, each route includes multiple runs, and runs are cancelled individually in case some can still be covered off.
The consortium had said it was told by both operators last week that they had enough drivers to cover all routes at the start of the 2023/24 school year.
Delays of 10 to 40 minutes were also reported for 18 runs Wednesday morning, due in some cases to drivers being unfamiliar with routes or because of mechanical issues.
But on the great majority of the 168 bus routes in the system, drivers were keeping to schedule.
Student Transportation Services has advised parents to maintain a backup system in the event a driver is unavailable for their children's route.
It also recommends families download the new Bus Status 4 app, which sends notifications of bus cancellations and delays.
NOTE: A previous version of this story has been updated to clarify that each bus route has multiple runs
