They’re an incredibly important part of the school day, and the Sun West School Division is in need of more. There has been a call out for bus drivers around the west central region, from regular drivers, to substitutes.

“We do have open routes in a number of our different communities. We have open routes now in Plenty, Elrose, Outlook, Kindersley and Dinsmore,” Sun West Transportation Supervisor Renee Jeancart said. “We're actually very short on spare drivers as well. We have been trying to get spare drivers to cover the routes, but in some areas, we don't actually have any. So, if someone was looking to become a bus driver and they didn't want something full time, we definitely always accept spares.”

To become a bus driver, potential candidates are required to have an ‘S’ endorsement on their drivers license. It’s a specific SGI endorsement for bus drivers that requires the passing of a written exam and a driving test. All of which Sun West can assist with.

“The process for that requires that drivers need to have a medical completed. They need to take a written test and pre-trip exam, and a road test. We do provide training for those. We train them with the pre-trip and we do driver training for the road test.”

Time commitments for driving vary. The longest bus routes in the Division have pick-ups beginning around 7:30 am. Classes begin at 9:00am.

“Right now families are having to either drive their own kids. I know there is some areas where they are carpooling. So, it is up to the parents to get the kids to school when we don't have a bus in service,” Ms. Jeancart added. “Right now we need 7 Drivers for full time routes and then we always need spares.”

Bus drivers are part of the CUPE Union agreement. Full time drivers are provided a benefits package and pension plan access. Spare drivers have the option to opt in on the pension plan. This along with the daily flat rate and the per-kilometer fee.

“Another perk is with days off. You get all the same holidays as the school does. So, summers are off, weekends are off. Your Easters and things like winter breaks. Anyone who has kids, that’s a nice perk because you’re off as the same time as your kids.”

If you’re interested in helping out you can reach our to the Sun West School division transportation department at transportation@sunwestsd.ca.

“Drivers create relationships with students. It’s so important for our students to get to school.  They can even get a hold of us at the office here at 882-2677.”