The reaction has been somewhat mixed locally to the announcement by Minister of Education Leona Dombrowsky that she has requested a six month moratorium on the competitive procurement policy for school buses.
Dombrowsky, who made the announcement on June 23, said the province will be putting in place a task force to look at the process and the results of pilot projects in several school boards, including local boards through the Wellington-Dufferin Student Transportation Services (WDSTS) consortium.
Perth-Wellington MPP John Wilkinson hinted last week the decision may have been linked to a May demonstration in Arthur from local independent school bus operators, several of whom say the procurement policy has forced them out of business.
“Members of the Independent School Bus Operators Association (ISBOA) in my riding of Perth-Wellington have asked me to bring their concerns regarding the school transportation procurement process to my colleague, Leona Dombrosky, Minister of Education,” Wilkinson said in a press release.
“I would like to thank the minister for her decision.”
Dombrowsky’s office is letting school boards know they are not required to move ahead with competitive procurement for student transportation for the next six months. Any change will come after the recommendations of the task force.
Sean Payne, president of the ISBOA, told the Advertiser he is “cautiously optimistic” about the move, calling it a positive step towards addressing the negative impacts the process has had.
“It’s an opportunity to present our arguments about why it’s so flawed in its assumptions,” Payne said.
Wellington-Halton Hills MPP Ted Arnott welcomed the move, but he wonders what took so long.
“Finally, they appear to be listening to us,” Arnott said in a press release of his own. “But they’re too late for some of the school bus operators who’ve been put out of business.”
At least two, and up to four local companies have been forced out of business by the tender process carried out by WDSTS in 2009 and 2010.
Doug Akitt, of Belwood (two routes), and Dave and Anna Langdon (three routes), of Mapleton Township, did not participate in the second round of tenders last year.
Cook Bus Lines in Mount Forest lost 15 routes and Epoch’s Garage in Kenilworth lost eight routes. Both Cook’s and Epoch’s are left with just one route each within the consortium (officials from neither company could be reached by press time).
But even officials from the local bus companies that gained routes through the tender process – including Brenmar Transit in Harriston, and Denny Bus Lines Ltd. near Ospringe – have referred to the process as extremely flawed and a “blow to the industry” that will result in a decline in the level of service provided.
