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Premier Doug Ford's Ontario

PinkLucy said:
I am seeing posts in my neighbourhood FB group asking for lists of restaurants who won’t enforce the passport. Sure, let’s ask struggling businesses to risk huge fines just so you can sit your unvaxxed ass inside.
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At least now you'd know which restaurants to avoid - besides, catering the whims of an anti-vax minority (and risk losing the business of the vaccinated majority) surely is the path to success.

AoD
 
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PinkLucy said:
I am seeing posts in my neighbourhood FB group asking for lists of restaurants who won’t enforce the passport. Sure, let’s ask struggling businesses to risk huge fines just so you can sit your unvaxxed ass inside.
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Seems like a great resource for bylaw enforcement.
 

Ontario facing school bus driver shortage as students head back to school next week​

From link.
Ontario is facing a school bus driver shortage as students are set to head back to school next week.

School Bus Ontario is calling on the Ford government to “fix the flawed” busing contract bid system as the province is currently facing a shortfall of hundreds of operators.

The group says bus contracts are awarded to operators that put in the lowest bids which suppresses driver pay and in turn results in high turnover rates.

“This has been going on for 10 years. The government has not moved to fix this problem at all, awarding contracts to the lowest possible bidder and driver wages are suppressed at $16 to $20 an hour on average in Ontario, and that's not enough to attract drivers anymore,” Nancy Daigneault, executive director of School Bus Ontario told CP24 on Thursday.

Daigneault said parents should expect school bus delays and cancellations across Ontario, particularly in the Greater Toronto Area, Hamilton, Ottawa, Peterborough and northern Ontario.

“Check the [school board] websites because there are going to be delays, we just don't have the driver pool that we used to and it's going to take years to build it up again,” she said.

The group argues that bus operators are not fairly compensated for the amount of responsibility they have and are paid much less compared to public transit drivers.

Daigneault also noted that several bus drivers are seniors who have been putting themselves at risk while working during the COVID-19 pandemic.

“They have a lot more responsibility, a lot more training, they have to be trained in CPR, first aid, epi pen, racial sensitivity training, all sorts of different training. It's a part-time, split-shift job, and it's not as attractive as it used to be for retirees,” Daigneault said.

“These are frontline workers, they put their lives on the line last year during the pandemic, when there were no vaccines available. We need to reward them properly,” she added.

School Bus Ontario has proposed different ideas to rework the bidding system, including getting a third party to set the wages and rates for the local industries based on economic conditions.

Daigneault said the group has been calling for change for the past 10 years but has yet to see any action from the government.

“We've put forth these suggestions, time and time again… And here we are facing a perfect storm with back to school, low driver wages, bad contracts, and a system that just is not sustainable.”

CP24 has reached out to the Ministry of Education for comment but has yet to receive a response.
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Out of curiosity, how much does it cost to provide school buses versus letting creating a cycling infrastructure so that the school students, teachers, staff, and guardians could ride to and from school by bicycle?

 
W. K. Lis said:

Ontario facing school bus driver shortage as students head back to school next week​

From link.


Out of curiosity, how much does it cost to provide school buses versus letting creating a cycling infrastructure so that the school students, teachers, staff, and guardians could ride to and from school by bicycle?

Click to expand...

When I was going to primary school in everybody walked or biked. At junior high, the catchment area was larger but everybody still walked - in some cases several kilometers. In high school pretty much everybody walked, some to Finch and Bathurst from damn near Yonge and Steeles. There were some who came a significant distance because of the programs on offer and I think they had TTC passes. The only time we saw a yellow bus was school trips.

I get that some students may travel long distances because of special or particular programs, but I don't get the proliferation of busing these days. Obviously, some special needs students would not be capable of biking.

Where teachers or other staff is irrelevant to the busing issue.

I wonder how much of an uptake there would be in January or February.

For a while post-retirement, I worked for a company that also owned a fleet of school buses and we shared radio frequencies. I realize the split scheduling and other aspects appeal to some people, but from listening to the radio traffic, there isn't enough money on the planet to pay me to do that job.
 
W. K. Lis said:

Ontario facing school bus driver shortage as students head back to school next week​

From link.


Out of curiosity, how much does it cost to provide school buses versus letting creating a cycling infrastructure so that the school students, teachers, staff, and guardians could ride to and from school by bicycle?

Click to expand...
Having lived in the Netherlands for about 20 yrs, I can tell you even with cycling infrastructure, you cannot compare the Dutch situation with a Canadian one. The distance the Dutch kids travel between home and school cannot be compared. Most Dutch students live within a reasonable distance of a school, walking or public transport, cycling is easy. School buses are used for those who are not capable of traveling alone due to various handicaps. Winter is far less severe with occasional snow and ice storms. Rain is far more frequent and almost every child has a raincoat to keep them dry. Dutch students have a far less distance to travel than Canadian students.

Looking at my grandkids in York region as an example, there is simply not enough public transport and cycling in winter on rural roads would be too dangerous.

School bus drivers are underpaid and should receive a fair wage compared with every other public transport driver.
 
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lenaitch said:
...

Where teachers or other staff is irrelevant to the busing issue.

....
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True. But currently the schools have to provide parking for them. If they had better bicycle parking, even the teachers and staff would be able to cycle to and from school.

Xtracycle-600x400-1.jpg
From link. The teachers could even use cargo bikes when they take home their class assignments for grading.

BTW. Do the teachers and staff pay for their parking, or is it "free". Should it be at least a "taxable benefit" if they do park their cars at school. Shouldn't be a "taxable benefit" if they come by bicycle or public transit.
 
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