Families forced to deal with cancelled bus routes in Sudbury

Sudbury -

As COVID-19 rages in Sudbury, more and more families are being affected by bus cancellations and potential contact with cases.

Nichole Cole’s six-year-old daughter was recently designated as being in close contact with a COVID-19 case, both at her school and on her bus.

“I can’t even count how many emails I received the day I got the phone call about it," Cole said. "Now she has to extend her quarantine time because she was exposed on a bus that she’s never been on."

As a former bus driver, she understands people can’t keep track of who is actually on the bus each day. Because Cole's child is on the list for that bus route, she will have to stay home for up to 17 days despite having no symptoms and a negative COVID-19 test.

Kaya Zelonko is a mom of two in Sudbury. While her children attend two different schools, she drives them to school every day.

“We decided that after a year and a half of online learning that they really wanted to go back to school," Zelonko said. "With all of the cancellations and bus driver shortages they have, it's really been a mess … So I just thought that for me, like, it’s a pain, but I thought it would be the safest route for us.”

The Sudbury Student Services Consortium confirmed Monday there have been no known cases of COVID-19 in drivers, but many are leaving the profession because of the risk.

“Fear of COVID is the reason why they’re leaving, so we have a driver shortage issue,” said Renée Boucher, executive director.

"We’ve had to cancel some routes during the past couple of weeks. This week again we have some routes cancelled. We are working with the school bus operators to rectify the situation."

A major challenge, she said, is the fact some buses have four different runs during the course of the day, from both elementary and high schools in the city. So when a new case is confirmed, up to four routes can be affected.

As of Monday morning, the consortium had to cancel more than 30 bus routes because of COVID-19. Another 12 have been cancelled this week because of the shortage. The routes affected by the virus will not return for 10 days and the cancelled routes due to the shortage will change each week until enough drivers are hired.

Boucher said one of the companies in Sudbury hopes to recruit 50 drivers before next year so the school year can begin without cancellations.

In the meantime, Boucher said parents and guardians will receive emails and automated calls. She wants to remind everyone that when it comes to COVID-19 exposure, it's Public Health Sudbury & Districts that tells the consortium what needs to be done in terms of isolation and cancellations.