Local bus companies eye potential legislation
Posted By Dan Schell
Posted 3 months ago
It is a moment many people in rural Ontario remember from their days in the public school system.
Walking to the end of their driveway or dirt road with their backpacks loaded to the brim with the day's lunch and binders awaiting the school bus to pick them up. As the large yellow vehicle pulls forward, the driver swings the door open and calls out the child's name, asks about their family and their day at school. As the child sits down with their friends, they also gain a good friend in the community: the person who drives them every day to and from school.
This treasured memory might be in jeopardy if a new shift in provincial regulations for school boards is passed through the Ontario government.
Right now, the Ontario Ministry of Education is looking at the potential of moving forward with making the selection of school bus operators a decision for the school boards via a Request For Proposal process.
Though this might result in more affordable bussing options at the board level, and less for the government to fund them in support, the fear of many in the independent school bus operator business is that this will leave a large portion of local employment and money out of small communities.
"It is a scary thing when you think of how it will impact smaller rural communities like North Hastings," says Laurie Evans, owner and operator of R and L Lines out of Bancroft.
The Evans family has been a staple in the North Hastings community, picking up students and dropping them off at school and home since 1973. Now, with Laurie continuing that family legacy in the area, the locally-minded company looks to an uncertain future as this new system is being reviewed.
Luckily for him and many rural bus operators, this legislation has not been passed officially and is currently not mandated. However, the ministry has began some test areas that have undergone the RFP process for the bus systems to a shocking result.
Within the southern Ontario, 105 systems were opened to the RFP process and the results were not favourable to independent operators. Out of all of the open areas, only two were awarded to local companies. The remaining 103 went to multi-national bus operators who won over school boards with offering a cheaper cost than the local companies due to their large basis of resources.
Evans feels that this is a tough thing to compete with as a rural operator in a small community, which may lead to a major blow to his company that not only hires a signficant number of local drivers but also contributes greatly to their home community and economy.
"When it comes to larger operations, they do things a little differently than we would regarding the community and the systems," says Evans.
Roland Montgomery agrees completely. He operates Montgomery School Transit Limited out of Trenton, ON, and has been the representative for the Quinte area independent bus operators at the provincial and local level.
As he continues to battle this shift in policy, Montgomery says that his frustration is starting to build as he and his associates with the Independent School Bus Operators Association are not receiving the attention of the government that sits awaiting this decision.
"We have provided solutions and ways of solving the problem to all of our local MPP's, and we are just not being listened to," says Montgomery. "This is a serious threat to many, and all we are aksing for is fairness, accountability and transparency."
"This shouldn't be about the money, it should be about the kids."
Economically, Montgomery says that local bus companies are a big portion of the money coming into their area. Not only in hiring local people as drivers and maintenance people, but also in the purchasing of parts and other service, he fears that kind of local support will go to the wayside with multinationals that are given a major opportunity through this format.
"We have nothing against the multinationals and the opportunity they are getting through this process, " says Montgomery. "But, they do use their own resourses rather than going to the local companies for either parts or service."
"I have always gone to the local businesses for any service that I need and that kind of service is what is threatened right now."
After discussions from a variety of provincial representatives, including Premier Dalton McGuinty at a speech in Brighton, Montgomery says that the RFP process is something that is being challenged by some, but pushed by others for political reasons.
As a result, he feels that the impact on the small operators is being ignored for a focus on public image of accountability.
"The representatives are saying that it is an $800 million expenditure that is not being sent out to others for review, with no competition," says Montgomery. "But, there is a system in place that was agreed on and has worked for years."
Currently, bus operators work on an agreed benchmark cost of $40,000 per bus annually that was set three years ago. With the addition of a provincially mandated operational review, in which a pass of 80 per cent is manditory, he feels that the accountability the government is looking for would be achieved while saving a large amount of local operating companies.
"They need to wake up and support the small, local companies rather than threatening the investments they have put into their companies for years," he says.
With the steady benchmark that was agreed upon, he explains that many companies, including Montgomery himself, have put significant investments for more buses that offers a broader service to their area. With most of older equipment being sold to and refurbished by the large companies that might take the contracts.
All across the province, including in parts of North Hastings, people are signing a petition that is fighting this potential legislation before it is passed in Queen's Park. And, for those like Evans, the time is of the essence.
"For years, our family has found pride in the great service we provide to this community, and it would be a shame to lose that," says Evans.
