No end in sight for school bus delays, cancellations in Francophone South

The Francophone South School District sees no end in sight for a bus shortage that's causing route delays and cancellations.

The school district, which covers the south-central part of the province, sent an email Tuesday notifying parents the issue is continuing, after 37 buses were delayed by up to 90 minutes on Monday.

Monique Boudreau, superintendent of the Francophone South, said the Department of Transportation and Infrastructure was made aware of the problem when the district requested seven new buses in June. 

Boudreau said those buses were expected to arrive in August, but never did.  

"This is really a big part of the problem, because we have to take our buses that would usually be spare ones," Boudreau told Information Morning Moncton. 

She said spare buses are intended to temporarily replace those in the main fleet that are in need of inspection or repair, so now when buses are in need of maintenance there are no replacements.

Boudreau said the Department of Transportation is responsible for maintenance services of school buses and has encountered a shortage of mechanics.

"It takes more time for inspections and to repair the buses … so all of this is part of that big problem," she said. 

Prior to Christmas break, the district was able to borrow buses from other districts to accommodate the issue, but those have since been returned, she said.

Schools in Fredericton and Oromocto are experiencing the greatest impact. 

"For example, we have 33 routes in Fredericton and only 28 buses," said Boudreau. 

"We even had to bring in some buses from other parts of our district to Fredericton for this week because we really didn't want to have to cancel routes, but this is causing delays everywhere in our district." 

She said Francophone South is asking drivers to double their routes in some cases, which also causes delays. 

Transportation Minister Chuck Chiasson told Radio-Canada that it's normal for bus requests to take time.

"Is it realistic to request buses in June and expect to receive them in August? You have to go through the budget process," he said. 

In a statement to CBC News, Jacob MacDonald, a spokesperson for the Transportation Department, said that the government has been buying about 90 buses per year. 

The budget for 2025-2026 academic year will allow for the purchase of 120 new buses, "in order to address requests from districts across the province," said MacDonald. 

As of Dec. 4, the province had 1,283 buses in its fleet. This figure includes buses that are out of service due to the need for inspections or repairs. 

MacDonald did not say when the seven buses requested by the Francophone South School District will be delivered. 

A ripple effect 

Iris Lloyd, president of CUPE Local 1253 representing school bus drivers and custodians, said the issue is two-fold: there aren't enough casual bus drivers and there aren't enough mechanics to repair broken-down buses. 

"We're actually seeing drivers sitting at home because they don't have a bus to drive. We don't have enough in our fleet to have spare buses because those are waiting to be repaired because we don't have enough mechanics to repair them," said Lloyd.     

Recruitment and retention efforts for bus drivers have been going on for years, as school districts across the province have dealt with driver shortages. Lloyd said it's become difficult to recruit drivers when there aren't buses for them to drive. 

Drivers are also looking elsewhere for better opportunities,Lloyd said, "with the high cost of living … to be a school bus driver at these wages, or even a school bus mechanic, the money is just not there to try and raise a family."  

Jonathan Guimond, president of CUPE Local 1190 representing transportation and tourism staff, said he's seeing mechanics leave the public service to seek higher wages in the private sector.

Mechanics working for the province earn between $28 and $29 per hour. But Guimond says wages in the private sector are $7 to $9 higher per hour. 

There are also more incentives, including tool allowances and vacation time. 

"There is certainly an opportunity for them to go and do better for themselves, and that's what we see from the members that are leaving," said Guimond. 

He said it is especially common for mechanics to seek higher-paying jobs in Fredericton, Moncton and Saint John, where school bus mechanic shops are operating at 60 per cent capacity. 

Guimond said the buses require two inspections each year, which adds up to more than 2,200 inspections annually. 

That doesn't include the consistent repairs needed to keep the province's aging fleet in service. 

"Our members are not willing to do just half of the work that's needed. When a bus comes in for an inspection that travels kids it needs to be done properly," he said.

"They take the time that they need to do it, but when the staff is not there you can't get done what needs to get done."  

Guimond said the former Higgs government "kind of ignored" the need for higher wages in the province, and he's hopeful the Holt government will be more willing to look at the issue.