'Lost confidence': Family frustrated after school bus misses 3 pickups in first week

An Edmonton family is concerned after a school bus repeatedly did not show up to pick up their daughter three times last week, forcing them to drive her to class.

George Cardinal's daughter attends Victoria School for the Arts and was waiting for the bus on the first day of school when he says the bus never came.

"The first day, we gave them the benefit of the doubt, being the first day of school," Cardinal told CTV News Edmonton.

"We showed up on the second day, same story: no bus," he added. "Luckily, I had time to drive her to school on both days."

After not receiving any information from the bus company on why the bus had not arrived, Cardinal said he spoke to some bus drivers at the schoo. They told him that the first few days of school were always "busy times" and that a temporary driver was learning his daughter's route.

After school, his daughter got on the bus and realized the driver was not leaving the school.

"She approached them (the driver) and asked what was going on," Cardinal recalled. "They said they were having difficulty figuring out the route. She said, should I call my dad? They said sure."

"So she called me and got off the bus, and immediately after they drove away," he added. "There was no one around… She was there on her own while she waited. Not sure why he couldn't take her."

On the third day, Cardinal said he waited with his daughter for 15 minutes after the scheduled pickup for it not to arrive. The mobile app didn't show where along the route the bus was. He then called the bus company.

"The conversation was not good, to say the least," he recounted. "They said they couldn't get ahold of the driver. And then I said, 'What about the GPS?' 'No, we don't have that either.'"

"So I'm standing there going, so you don't know where your bus is, and you can't get ahold of your driver?"

The company pledged to re-route another bus after it had completed its initial service. Cardinal said by that point, his daughter would have arrived at school two hours after she was supposed to have been picked up.

"I was (initially) feeling very understanding of their situation," Cardinal said. "Until the third day. Three days of not even seeing a bus was a bit too much for me."

In a statement to CTV News Edmonton, the Edmonton Public School Board said it was aware of the issues with the route Cardinal's daughter relies upon.

"Changes were made to improve service, and as of Wednesday, Sept. 7, the route was operating with minimal delays," the statement said.

Bus provider Southland Transportation said the whole industry is experiencing driver shortages.

"Regardless of coverage and delay timings, Southland still provides transportation services and will send a bus for students," the company said. "We understand the inconvenience the driver shortages are causing families and are working to train and hire new team members each day."

"Communication of delays is made to parents through various technological platforms, and if there is a parent who is not receiving this information, they should reach out."

Cardinal says his biggest concern is for his daughter to be stranded without having a way to get to school.

"Both her mom and I work," he added. "The reason why we are here for the first few days is to get her comfortable (taking the bus)."

"I became very concerned for my child's wellbeing," he said. "I really have lost confidence in this bus company."