Student Transportation of Eastern Ontario says recent school bus boundary changes were driven by provincial funding standards, not by a shortage of bus drivers.
STEO General Manager and CAO Janet Murray says the organization had, for years, offered transportation eligibility zones that were broader than the common reference standards used by the province.
STEO’s annual funding simulation calculates how many vehicles would be required if those provincial standards were applied. Murray says continuing to provide service beyond that level created a long-term financial challenge.
One of the biggest changes affects students in grades 9 through 12.
Murray stresses the changes were not made because of the ongoing challenge of recruiting and retaining school bus drivers.
The new boundaries have also exposed other transportation problems faced by some families.
Murray pointed to a case reported in Brockville involving a parent with a physical disability who now has to find another way to get their child to school.
She says cases like that show school transportation may previously have been filling gaps that were not always obvious.
Those issues can include mobility challenges, daycare arrangements and safe routes for students who are now expected to walk.
Murray says STEO is looking at opportunities to work with schools, municipalities and neighbourhoods on possible solutions, including safer walking routes and other active transportation options.
