New Brunswick school bus drivers fail to meet licensing, training requirements: audit

FREDERICTON -

New Brunswick's auditor general has uncovered evidence of school bus drivers failing to meet licensing, training and criminal record check requirements, saying these lapses are putting students at risk.

Paul Martin released an audit Tuesday that also highlights problems with school bus maintenance, noting that 63 buses were overdue for inspections and another 311 were overdue for maintenance during the time of the audit, which covered the period between Jan. 1, 2022 and Feb. 1, 2024.

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Of the 107,000 children in the New Brunswick public school system, 78 per cent take the bus to and from school.

"Non-compliance with legislation and departmental policies surrounding pupil transportation could increase the risk of endangering a vulnerable population," the report says.

A review of 65 drivers' personnel files found that 46 per cent did not comply with licensing requirements for employment; 20 per cent did not have a criminal record check on file; 37 per cent did not provide evidence of driver training when they were hired; and 68 per cent did not have performance appraisals in the last five years.

The province employs 1,067 permanent and 275 casual drivers, and it has 1,304 provincially owned and leased school buses.

A review of 150 bus inspection reports found 311 defects including 35 leaking air brake systems, 20 malfunctioning emergency exits, 20 instances of broken lights, and a hole in the floor of one bus.

"The magnitude and severity of defects noted through these additional inspections highlights the need for timely and thorough motor vehicle inspections," the report says.

The audit found the Education Department lacks oversight to ensure that the province's seven school districts comply with legislation and departmental policies. As well, none of the four reviewed school districts demonstrated full compliance with legislation and policy.

"Of utmost concern to us is that despite our office's extensive audit of pupil transportation in 2001, several gaps in levels of compliance still remain," Martin says in the report. "We see little improvement in the area of departmental monitoring and oversight."

The audit also found that few strategies were in place to recruit and retain bus drivers.

"While the department has begun to develop a school bus driver recruitment and retention strategy, no targets or objectives have been set," the report says.

Liberal education critic Francine Landry issued a statement saying something must be done to improve monitoring and oversight of the bus system.

"The government has clearly been distracted with the wrong priorities when it comes to the education and safety of students," Landry said. "Once again, it is putting kids at unnecessary risk."

Martin has submitted to the government 12 recommendations aimed at fixing these problems.

The Progressive Conservative government led by Premier Blaine Higgs has said it will comply with virtually all of Martin's recommendations before the end of the year.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 4, 2024.

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