LAKELAND - Dan Skrypichayko is the owner/operator of a small school bus company in Glendon that works with Northern Lights Public Schools (NLPS). He predicts trouble ahead if companies do not receive enough compensation to recruit and retain drivers.
Skrypichayko says the increased costs of maintaining buses paired with high insurance premiums and biannual inspections make it difficult to pay drivers enough.
“My insurance premium is worth more than my bus every year. What sense does that make? The numbers are out of whack. Fuel has gone up, repairs are up, tires are up, everything is up. There's no money to give these drivers raises,” said Skrypichayko.
Because of the split shift nature of the job, drivers do not take home high daily wages.
“They’ve got six hours in the middle to kill. A lot of these drivers get up at 5:30 a.m. If you have a [short] route you can't afford to pay your driver very much. I know drivers who are getting $60 to $80 a day. Who is going to get up at 5:30 a.m. and fire up a bus for that? It's no wonder they can't find anyone.”
Drivers take on a big responsibility, with children and parents relying on them – even in -30C weather.
Despite the challenges, he expressed not only how important the service is, but how much he loves the work.
“This is the best job I’ve ever had. I love the kids. I’m very fortunate, I drive the same kids every day.”
Skrypichayko spoke about the unique issues many small rural contractors have as they push for an increase in compensation.
“Us rural guys, we’re just getting slaughtered.”
Skrypichayko would like to see school divisions such as NLPS go “up the ladder” to encourage the provincial government to address issues.
He sees how much better off the federally funded francophone system is, and feels the province needs to step up and offer a fair deal to all public school bus drivers.
“At Northern Lights, our transportation director is excellent, and he is doing his best, but he only has so much money to work with,” acknowledges Skrypichayko.
He also feels there are ways to make the driving positions appealing, beyond increased wages. Driving positions offer an important role within small towns that often have limited employment opportunities, and adding benefits could be a serious incentive for people whose lifestyle suits the split shift nature of the job.
Skrypichayko said he has only been in the business for a few years, but looking at the industry as a whole, he feels that some days it is a “losing battle.”
After the COVID-19 pandemic, Skrypichayko said some “mom and pop” operators who did a lot of the rural work decided not to return because their buses were old and worn out, and they weren’t making enough money.
“I took busing for granted when my kids were in school. I never even thought about it. You don’t realize what goes into it. Now that I do it, I [realize] it’s serious business,” said Skrypichayko.
