SUDBURY -- In addition to the 23 school bus routes that have been cancelled in the Sudbury area for the first week of school, Sudbury Student Services Consortium has cancelled two more Tuesday morning.
"Unfortunately, two additional routes have been cancelled for the week, due to a shortage of drivers: L013 and LW202, said Renee Boucher, executive director of Sudbury Student Services Consortium. "Again, we apologize for the inconvenience this will cause parents, children and schools."
The other routes that have been cancelled for this week include:
- L025 – AM - Westmount/Carl Nesbitt/Holy Trinity
- L025 – PM - St. Charles College/Lasalle Secondary
- L029 – AM - Lasalle Secondary/St. Charles College/Jean Ethier Blais/Holy Trinity
- L029 – PM - Marymount/College Notre-Dame/Sudbury Secondary/Sacre Coeur - Holy Trinity
- L032 - AM - Lockerby/Lo Ellen/St. Benedict - R.L. Beattie
- L032 - PM- Sacre Coeur/ College Notre-Dame/Marymount - St. Pierre
- L104 - AM - Carl Nesbitt/Ernie Checkeris
- L104 - PM - Lasalle Secondary - Adamsdale/St. Pierre/Pius XII
- L106 - AM - Sudbury Secondary/ Marymount/College Notre-Dame/Sacre Coeur - Adamsdale/St. Pierre/Pius XII
- L106 - PM - College Notre Dame/Marymount/Sudbury Secondary/Sacre Coeur - Jeanne Sauve
- L110 - AM - Sudbury Secondary/Marymount/College Notre-Dame/Sacre Coeur - Jeanne Sauve
- L110 - PM - St. Benedict - Helene Gravel/St. Denis
- L111 - AM - Westmount/Carl Nesbitt
- L111 - PM - Lockerby - St. David/St. Joseph/Queen Elizabeth
- L118 - AM - Lasalle Secondary - Landsdowne/St. Joseph/St. David
- L118 - PM - St. Benedict - R.L. Beattie
- L121 - AM - Sudbury Secondary/Marymount/College Notre-Dame - Helene Gravel/St. Denis
- L121 - PM - Lo Ellen - Holy Cross
- L128 - AM - Lockerby - St. Denis
- L128 - PM - College Notre Dame/Marymount/Sudbury Secondary - Holy Cross
- L355 - AM - Marymount - Churchill/Westmount
"While usually when we have a driver shortage we can actually look at runs and can take one stop away from one bus and put it somewhere else and we can tweak the runs around that way," said Boucher. "Unfortunately this year, because every child needs an assigned seat on every school bus that the child takes, unfortunately we can't add school bus stops at the last minute."
Original:
On Sept. 7, the Sudbury Student Services Consortium announced in a news release that 23 school bus routes across the city have been cancelled for the first week of school.
The news comes just one day before the academic year is set to begin.
Consortium officials say a driver shortage has forced the cancellation of nearly two dozen routes and referred to the impact COVID-19 has had on one of their service providers.
"COVID-19 has greatly impacted one local school bus operator, as many of their drivers have decided not to return behind the wheel," said Boucher in the release. "We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause to parents, students and schools."
Affected families will receive an automated phone call Monday and the information has been posted to the consortium's website.
The consortium says it is working with school bus operators to find a solution and that recruitment efforts are on-going.
Anyone interested in becoming a school bus driver to contact Leuschen Transportation.
