The drama has had more mileage than the busses.
Families and students across Prince George have been feeling the impact of the shortage of First Student bus drivers since classes resumed in September.
The most recent ongoing frustration has been centered around Bear Lake, a community about 70km north of Prince George, which has not had a morning bus route for nearly three weeks – however they have had afternoon busses back.
The nearly hour-long drive into Prince George is not feasible for many parents in the area who have come to rely on school buses.
Last week, the school district said there should be a fix by the start of this week. This week, the situation has only gotten worse.
This seems to be due to communication between the school district and First Student breaking down, as conflicting information has been sent to parents by both sources.
My PG Now published an article on this earlier today (Wednesday) that also detailed how Salmon Valley has joined Bear Lake in losing its morning bus route.
A couple of hours later, things got even worse for Salmon Valley and Bear Lake residents.
Jennifer Reimer is a Bear Lake parent who has become the voice for parents and students in the area.
She contacted My PG Now this morning, saying that all bus service to Salmon Valley and Bear Lake has been completely halted for the remainder of the week – at least.
Route 3 – the route that picks up Salmon Valley in the morning and extends back into Bear Lake in the afternoon – was canceled for the week at 3:00 yesterday.
On top of that, Reimer said the families in Bear Lake were not directly notified – she was told by another parent in Salmon Valley.
“I could believe that when I saw that, and I called [First Student]. I got the dispatch lady and she said ‘that’s correct, there is no bus going in or out of Bear Lake for the next three days for sure.'”
She said this means no school for the majority of impacted kids, hers included.
“They say they are going to have a bus driver on Monday,” Reimer said. “At this point, I will believe it when I see it.”
Once again, My PG Now reached out to both School District 57 and First Student for a phone interview to address the situation.
Lee Karpenko, the School District’s Assistant Superintendent, responded via email, saying: “as soon as I have more info from First Student – I will let you know,” again pointing to a potential communication breakdown between the two.
A First Student representative also responded with an email, saying “we are working to identify route efficiencies to pick up as many students as possible and continue actively recruiting, hiring, and training new drivers.”
Previous articles related to the bus schedule breakdowns
Salmon Valley joins Bear Lake without morning bus service – November 2nd
Bear Lake students left waiting as SD 57 bussing woes persist – October 25th
SD57 bussing struggles continue into mid-September, no estimate on a full fix date – September 16th
Frustration for a Blackburn family with SD 57 bus provider – September 8th
New SD 57 transportation provider dealing with some early bumps in the road – September 7th
SD 57 makes lane change, awards bus contract to First Student Canada – June 22nd
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