School bus drivers are getting ready for a busier school year with the return of field trips and sporting events.
Chatham-Kent Lambton Administrative School Services (CLASS) provides bus service for both the Lambton Kent and St. Clair Catholic District School Boards.
CLASS GM Kent Orr said they're pleasantly surprised to be in good shape for the fall.
"We got drivers for all routes and we're in good shape with our spare driver pool, so we're ready to turn wheels in September."
Orr expressed how bus drivers could be a bit busier this year.
"We saw a big spike even in the spring of last year when the field trips started and the activities and the sporting events and it definitely creates a much larger demand on that charter service. So, we're excited for that, it's great to see for the kids, it's great to see to keep the drivers out there working."
Orr said masking on buses is optional for both students and drivers.
He said CLASS certainly felt labour impacts and pressures over the last two years, similar to a lot of sectors and industries.
"The absences and illnesses came and kind of piled on and created compounding issues for coverage. We were very fortunate in our area in that we didn't have any bus cancellations or anything like that because of labour shortages, so our operators did a great job and we have an awesome pool of drivers that really stepped up through the last couple of years and we're pleased to be in good shape for September this year."
Orr said they're always recruiting and looking for drivers to bolster their spare pool.
"With any position you've got staff that need to take time off -- vacation, illness, personal reasons, whatever -- so you just need those extra drivers as spares to kind of keep that service in place."
Orr is reminding the public to watch out for students and school buses when school starts up in September. He said school buses will have the amber light system this year.
"So instead of four red lights on the back of the bus, you're going to see two amber and two red, and those amber lights give you the advanced warning that the bus is stopping and the red lights mean that you cannot pass."
The first day of the new school year is Tuesday, September 6.
