Sudbury student shares frustration with school bus cancellations
Denika Legault, a Grade 11 student at College Notre Dame in Sudbury, says frequent problems with school buses this year have sometimes left her in the cold.
Legault said her high school experience has been anything but normal so far.
“It's been pretty difficult," she said. "It's hard to keep stable grades because one day we’re online then were at school then we’re told to go to school without any transportation. So it's been pretty difficult, but we’re trying our best.”
Legault said there are currently no options for learning from home if students have to isolate or don’t have transportation. She said that is unfair.
“I’ve been left twice without a bus so far," she said.
"Once it was in the morning and I was waiting outside and it was like -40 outside and I waited outside for 20 minutes and it never came and there was nothing (from) the bus consortium about my bus.”
Renée Boucher of the Sudbury Student Services Consortium said the organization does its best to make sure all of the necessary information is available on its website. https://www.businfo.ca/en/
“Every morning on our website we post the cancellations under our announcements but we also have a section for delays, and so just a reminder for parents to verify,” said Boucher.
She said a driver shortage and constant sick calls are to blame for the cancelled bus routes in Sudbury, but said the situation is improving.
“We have four school bus routes that are being cancelled this week because of the driver shortage, so that is much, much better than before Christmas, so it's coming along," Boucher said.
"We are training drivers and keeping them behind the wheels of our buses. One of our biggest issues right now is drivers who are either ill themselves or they reside with someone who is symptomatic.”
She said last on Jan. 21, 28 routes were cancelled due to isolation rules. On Monday, it was 16. Boucher said she's hopeful this week will be better than the last.
But ultimately, she said the problem will only be solved once there are extra drivers on the roster to cover sick calls.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Bodies found by U.S. authorities searching for missing B.C. kayakers
United States authorities who have been searching for a pair of missing kayakers from British Columbia since the weekend have recovered two bodies in the nearby San Juan Islands of Washington state.
Amid concerns over 'collateral damage' Trudeau, Freeland defend capital gains tax change
Facing pushback from physicians and businesspeople over the coming increase to the capital gains inclusion rate, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his deputy Chrystia Freeland are standing by their plan to target Canada's highest earners.
'It's discriminatory': Individuals refused entry to Ontario legislature for wearing keffiyeh
Individuals being barred from entering Ontario’s legislature while wearing a keffiyeh say the garment is part of their cultural identity— and the only ones making it political are the politicians banning it.
Tom Mulcair: Park littered with trash after 'pilot project' is perfect symbol of Trudeau governance
Former NDP leader Tom Mulcair says that what's happening now in a trash-littered federal park in Quebec is a perfect metaphor for how the Trudeau government runs things.
Saskatchewan households will continue to receive carbon tax rebate: Trudeau
Households in Saskatchewan will continue to receive Canada Carbon Rebate payments, despite the province refusing to remit the federal carbon price on natural gas, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Tuesday.
'It's just so hard to let it go': Umar Zameer still haunted by death of Toronto police officer
'We hoped for this day, but we were scared that it would not never ever come because it took so long.' That’s what Umar Zameer, the man recently acquitted in the death of a Toronto police officer, told CTV News Toronto in a sit-down interview on Tuesday.
Senate expenses climbed to $7.2 million in 2023, up nearly 30%
Senators in Canada claimed $7.2 million in expenses in 2023, a nearly 30 per cent increase over the previous year.
Canucks goalie Thatcher Demko won't play in Game 2
The Vancouver Canucks will be without all-star goalie Thatcher Demko when they face the Nashville Predators in Game 2 of their first-round playoff series.
Pedestrian, baby injured after stroller struck and dragged by vehicle in Squamish, B.C.
Police say a baby and a pedestrian suffered non-life-threatening injuries after a vehicle struck a baby stroller and dragged it for two blocks before stopping in Squamish, B.C.