School buses are supposed to be safe places for kids to go after school and return to their homes. Unfortunately, this is not the case. There are young lost children, bullying on the bus, dangerous drivers, and much more. Many parents are scared and don’t want their children to be influenced by the wrong people.
The bus drivers are discouraged from disciplining themselves and are controlled by some kids who think they have more power than they do. They want some changes.
Mélissa Girard, one of the directors of the association of the school buses, said that she received many complaints from the drivers, saying that they were anxious because of the daily trouble they face on their bus. This is the case of an old bus driver who experienced this type of situation when a teenager threw crackers from his lunchbox at him while driving. ”If they don’t do anything, I’ll hand my keys,” said the 50-year-old bus driver.
As a consequence, bus drivers can become part of the problem. Some parents have complained about driver violence or nasty comments. Insulting kids and cursing at undisciplined students is sometimes too tempting for them. Thus, many bus drivers don’t want to do their jobs anymore because they receive nasty comments from the kids.
The lack of a driver also causes a lot of issues. The conductors have difficulty taking their day off due to a sick colleague or filling in for emergencies. Another thing is that the replacement doesn’t know the bus route, which can sometimes generate serious complications. Maddison, a little girl in primary school, got stuck on the bus for three hours due to the bus driver, who was stressed because she didn’t know where to go. Instead of keeping her calm, the driver was rude and was not disrespectful to her. From now on, Maddison and her brother are walking to school. ”It really takes a big weight off my shoulders,” concludes Jennifer Tremblay, the mother of the two children.
With more than hundreds of complaints, the scholar system no longer knows what to do. They have difficulty finding a balance between all this. On the other hand, the school system should discipline the kids who are behaving improperly to support drivers better. Many of the supervisors at school don’t necessarily act when a chaotic situation happens. For some schools, when the buses leave the school grounds, administrators say that they are not involved and concerned about the problem anymore. ”The school board told us there was nothing they could do if our son was attacked,” said a mom of Laval, who was upset about the lack of collaboration from the school.
Everybody hopes that the problem will be settled soon and that the kids will be able to go to school without having to be anxious about the drive to school. Many also hope the system will treat the bus driver better regarding their work.
