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Charlottetown - The Union representing the Island’s School Bus Drivers, is pleased with the Department of Transportation’s decision, to conduct a thorough revision of the bus fleet.

We have 20 year old buses on our roads. This is a real concern for our members which have to transport thousands of children daily”, said Myles Noye, President of CUPE Local 1145.

The safety of our children is the number one priority for every bus driver on the Island.”

This situation did not come as a surprise to us. We raised this issue many times with government officials. We have been advocating for years the need to rotate the bus fleet in a timely fashion in order to avoid a situation such as this one. We believe we should have a 12-year rotation program of the fleet in place, in order to avoid the same problem in the future. Other provinces already have rotation programs in place, similar to what we have been proposing.”

Unfortunately years ago, the Government cut back on the purchasing of new buses, and this decision compromised the integrity of the bus fleet. Budget reductions prevented us to embark on such a rotation plan”, explained Myles Noye.

We will monitor the situation closely. We will meet tomorrow with government officials to assess the situation.”

Road safety is not an issue to be taken lightly. This situation does not need a Band-Aid Solution, it needs a long-term commitment from the Government to press forward for a 12-year rotation of the fleet”, concluded Noye.

CUPE Local 1145 represents 277 bus drivers across the province.

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For more information, please contact: Myles Noye (902) 439-7373