As the new school year starts up in Ottawa, thousands of parents and students have been scrambling to find rides with hundreds of school bus runs cancelled due to a driver shortage. In this photo taken using a drone, school buses are seen in a lot in Ottawa on Monday, April 18, 2022. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Sean Kilpatrick
OTTAWA – Thousands of Ottawa parents are still scrambling to find a way to get their kids to school after their buses were suddenly cancelled because of a driver shortage.
About 7,500 students are affected after the bus service for both the Ottawa public and catholic school boards cancelled 300 routes just before schools opened this week.
The Ottawa Student Transportation Authority says the city’s rural west end is among the hardest hit areas after a bus company that was to operate 36 routes pulled out.
OSTA says they are looking to resolve service disruptions in two weeks after making changes to routes and training more drivers.
A shortage of bus drivers is not unique to Ottawa with schools in Alberta, Sudbury, Ont., and Toronto all reporting issues.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 8, 2023.
