Eight Sudbury school bus routes cancelled due to vandalism

School buses (FILE)

Hundreds of Sudbury families are scrambling to find transportation for their children after eight school buses were cancelled Monday due to vandalism.

Sudbury Student Services Consortium announced the cancellations on social media around 7 a.m.

"Due to school bus vandalism over the weekend, we regret to cancel (eight) school bus services today. This concerns the morning (AM) and afternoon (PM) portions," the consortium said.

"We apologize for the inconvenience and thank you for your understanding while we work to resolve the situation."

A total of 11 school buses that service 13 routes were vandalized in the yard of Voyago on Notre Dame Avenue between 1 and 5:30 a.m. Monday, Brad Wills of Voyago told Sudbury CTV News reporter Lyndsay Aelick in an interview.

"The loading doors on the buses were pried open, which breaks the hinges, which prevents the doors from closing afterwards. So they were unusable, those buses for runs today," he said.

There was also evidence that the suspect(s) went through the glove boxes as well.

Because all school bus companies are required to have extra buses on hand, only eight routes were cancelled, consortium executive director Renee Boucher told CTVNewsNorthernOntario.ca in a phone interview.

Roughly 1,400 trips involving approximately 500 to 550 elementary and secondary school students from all four school boards are affected.

These are the routes that were cancelled Monday:

• G101
• G107
• G111
• G113
• G801
• G833
• G834
• G839

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"We are working with Voyago to determine which buses will be fixed and ready to go out for tomorrow's routes," Boucher said.

Wills said the repair to the metal door hinges only takes about 20-25 minutes, but the parts are scarce and the damage effects more than just the doors.

"So when that doesn't work, none of it works. I'm waiting for an assessment as to how many we'll have done today and how many we can get back on the road for tomorrow," he said.

Another local school bus operator is able to help out and provide more buses, but there is a potential for the cancellations to last several days.

Costly damages

"As for costs, it's worth $500 to $600 per bus, so it's a significant cost. As you're well aware, we also had to cancel eight runs this morning," Wills said, adding the losses will not be covered under insurance.

"We also don't get ... paid from our consortia on this. We don't do the runs, so there's the loss of income that is also added to the cost of a period."

This isn't the first time Voyago has experienced a break-in.

"A couple weeks ago, we had a couple buses that were broken into, but it was minor," Wills said.

"And then, last week, we had another couple. But this is the first time where it's been this extent to where we weren't able to operate properly."

Wills said police have been contacted.

"Unfortunately, the yard that we're located in, the security that is there is not directed to where the buses are parked. So there is no security footage," he said.

About half of the Voyago fleet has been affected.

With files from CTV News Sudbury reporter Lyndsay Aelick.