The Ottawa Student Transportation Authority (OSTA) has provided an update today on the school bus situation, which you can read here.
According to OSTA, 94 runs have been reinstated since September 5th. Notices have been sent out to the parents/guardians advising them of these new changes. Here is OSTA's full list of reinstated routes to date.
This afternoon, Councillor Kelly provided this statement in reaction to the OSTA update:
While it is encouraging to see that there have been some routes restored, several being in ward 5, I remain discouraged with the lack of immediate solutions for rural students and their families.
The solutions OSTA have outlined here that would be of any benefit to rural students are all listed as being weeks or even months away.
I also believe wholeheartedly that compensating parents for lost wages and costs incurred by having to transport their children to school should be offered but I have seen no mention of this. Given that OSTA knew months ago that it did not have a deal in place with one of their providers, coupled with the fact that many of these challenges have been apparent for years, I find this response entirely inadequate and offensive to rural families who pay for and rely on bus service to get their children safely to school.
I would ask that OSTA include in future updates their plan to create contingencies to ensure that the issues that have surfaced this year, do not become an annual occurrence for parents.
Clarke Kelly
Councillor, City of Ottawa
Ward 5
CONTACT:
You can email us at Clarke.Kelly@ottawa.ca or call our office at 613-580-2475.
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