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By Nathan Jordan

SD57 Bussing

First Student bus driver shortage causes kids to miss school in SD57

Nov 22, 2022 | 5:10 PM

PRINCE GEORGE- School age kids in the Caledonia Trailer Park on North Nechako road have been without reliable school bussing for weeks. The park is supposed to be serviced by routes 19 and 24, but both have been plagued by staffing challenges, leaving buses without drivers, kids without a way to school, and parents at their wits end.

Prince George City Transit stops just outside the Caledonia Trailer Park, and when concerned parents had exhausted all options looking for a transportation solution for their kids, this was the answer provided to them by a First Student dispatcher, something that has the top brass of SD-57 as concerned as the parents themselves.

When CKPG News reached out to First Student for comment on the driver shortage, this was this written response:

We are working to identify route efficiencies to pick up as many students as possible and continue actively recruiting, hiring, and training new drivers. The core of the issue remains the ongoing nationwide need for school bus drivers. Our industry is no different from other job sectors struggling to fill openings. – Jay Brock, First Student Spokesperson

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When pressed for comment on the specifics of the driver shortage, how long the shortage is expected to continue, and if First Student had been aware of the staff challenges prior to the start of the 2022-2023 school year, we did not receive a response by deadline.