Is your child's school bus route regularly cancelled? Here's why

In Quebec's school transport system, about 7,000 students daily struggle with canceled bus routes, primarily due to workforce shortages despite the industry being generally profitable. Private companies that operate the bus services cite financial reasons for not improving working conditions. However, research shows an average profit margin of 13.5% from 2012 to 2019, much higher than the Canadian average of 6% to 7%. This suggests that the companies could afford better workforce incentives and improve service reliability, but they choose not to. As a result, many students are left without reliable transportation, which raises concerns about the overall effectiveness of the school transport system in ensuring that children can get to school. This highlights a troubling disconnect between profitability and the well-being of students who depend on these services.

The government of Ontario engaged Deloitte to determine a reasonable profit margin for school transport companies, suggesting it should be around 8% due to the industry's low risk. However, some companies are earning double that margin, which raises concerns about whether they are reinvesting profits to improve working conditions and quality of service. One major company in Quebec has consistently maintained a higher profit margin of 15-16% over the last decade, even during challenging periods like the COVID-19 pandemic. This highlights a significant disparity between recommended profit margins and actual earnings, suggesting potential problems within the industry regarding financial priorities and service quality.