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The authority providing school bus service to students in Ottawa’s English public and Catholic school boards says it’s saving money after cancelling hundreds of routes due to a driver shortage, but can’t use that money to compensate parents because it’s being used to hire more drivers.
Last month, the Ottawa Student Transportation Authority (OSTA) said it had to cancel 300 bus routes because it couldn’t hire enough drivers, leaving the families of roughly 7,600 students scrambling to find alternative ways to school.
In a news release issued Tuesday, OSTA said it “does save some money through withheld payments for services not provided,” but is using that money to get new drivers from other transportation operators in the region.
“Unfortunately, OSTA does not have funds to compensate parents and guardians paying to transport their children to school following a bus cancellation. Even with repurposed savings, OSTA has a $6.5 million budget deficit,” the release said.
OSTA said the Ottawa Catholic School Board and Ottawa-Carleton District School Board are asking families suffering financially to contact their school principal, who “will work with them to find solutions to help address their individual concerns.”
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