'It’s easier than expected': In need of drivers, St. Thomas school bus company holds test drive session

The time is now for First Student St. Thomas (FSST) to recruit school bus drivers for September.

The company figures they need at least four to five drivers before school.

“There is a school bus driver shortage all through Ontario,” said Kevin Murray, branch manager for FSST, who has lost 13-15 drivers over the past 18 months to retirement or moving.

“We’re hoping to get some this week so as we can train them and have them on the road for September. COVID hit us hard, and we had to cancel some routes so we need some spare drivers.”

Cindy Gray test drives a school bus at a First Student Canada bus driver recruiting session in St. Thomas, Ont. on July 20, 2022. (Brent Lale/CTV News London)The company used a promotion Wednesday to encourage potential drivers to get behind the wheel.

They set up a road course at Joe Thornton Community Centre, and invited anyone with a G licence to give it a try.

“I saw the advertisement for it, so I thought I’d try it out,” said Wendy Gray, who was there with her sister Cindy to give it a try. “My kids really wanted me to be a school bus driver. They're like ‘You can drive us to school mom.’”

Tina Marie Moore has experience driving a 12-passenger van at work, and thought she’d like to see if bus driving could be a good part-time job.

“I love children and think that it would be a great opportunity,” she said.

Over the past few years, school bus driving has become a more desirable job, as the hours are good and the pay has increased 33 per cent to $19.50 per hour over the past few years.

“You get guaranteed at three and-a-half hours a day,” said Murray. “No matter if the run only takes an hour and you're still paid a minimum of three-and-a-half and it goes up in increments [and] after that we have runs that are over five hours.”

He states there is also a sign on bonus, FSST pays for the training, and the government also has a driver retention program which pays $1,000 bi-annually if you have 95 per cent attendance.

Instructor Lynn Pincombe of First Student St. Thomas provides tips to Cindy Gray before she test drives a school bus at a recruitment session in St. Thomas, Ont. on July 20, 2022 (Brent Lale/CTV News London)“It does add up and of course vacation pay like everybody else,” said Murray, who adds they traditionally target retirees, stay-at-home parents (who can bring their kids with them) and small business owners with flexible hours.

“We don't work in the summer, we don't work at Christmas, we don't work in March Break. So it's not a bad gig,” he said.

Politicians like St. Thomas Mayor Joe Preston and Coun. Jim Herbert gave it a try, along with Elgin-Middlesex London MP Karen Vecchio.

“Once they get behind the wheel, they realize it’s just like driving a big car,” said Lynn Pincombe, who was providing on-bus training.

Pincombe added, “We have 20 hours of class, we have seven hours of skills; that's where they get out and get to know the bus and the back end so that when they get on the road, they're very comfortable. And then we do 16 hours to teach them how to do the railroad crossing, picking up and dropping off students.”

The perception is that it would be difficult to operate such a large vehicle, but those behind the wheel quickly debunked that notion.

“It was a lot easier than expected,” said Gray. “I was worried about the corners and the size of the bus but it's not difficult.”

Anyone interested in becoming a bus driver can contact First Student St. Thomas and they will set up a training session.