Oakville school bus drivers gear up for new year, invite prospective recruits

With the first day of school less than a month away, school bus drivers are preparing by letting the public see what it takes to be a driver, and hopefully recruit others to get behind the wheel.

School may start in September but bus drivers in Oakville are getting the wheels rolling well in advance.

“All too often the community thinks that the size of the vehicle is too much for them and we’re here to show them that it’s not really that bad and to try to get people more into the buses to help the community, to help the kids,” said Brian Bedal, the manger at First Student Burlington.

The event held Tuesday at Oakville place allowed prospective drivers to come out and have a quick training course.

“The school bus, I always thought if I could ever drive it. Today I got a chance. It was a great experience,” said Ali Hussain.

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It’s about a 40 hour course and proper licensing to become a bus driver and trainer’s here say there’s not much to it

“We walk them around the bus. We give them a tape measurer, we measure the bus for them so they have some sort of connect in their mind with how big the bus is. It’s so important to know,” said trainer George Phillips.

This bus is about 40-feet-long and about 10-feet-wide when you factor in the mirrors. And when it comes to driving this bus, safety comes first.

There’s always a need for bus drivers and over the years, there’s been a shortage. But bus operators have been actively recruiting all summer

Dave Colley, the general manager of Halton Student Transportation Services, says the shortage began when COVID hit. During that period, they had many drivers aged 60 and above, which raised worries about COVID exposure.

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Colley mentioned that around 520 drivers are required to manage approximately 470 bus routes. As of right now, Colley says they are expecting enough drivers for September.

“This past year we’ve been seeing more of an influx of people coming back and people driving the buses and seeing the opportunity,” said Colley.

In Hamilton the public board says there are just over 16,000 students assigned to buses this year and so far it looks like all the routes will be covered.

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