PRINCE ALBERT — The Saskatchewan Rivers School Division’s transportation accountability report shows that hiring substitute drivers continues to be a challenge for the division.
The Sask. Rivers board got a look at the report during their regular meeting on Monday. It shows the division cancelled 38 routes during the school year due to a lack of substitute drivers.
Director of Education Neil Finch said that transportation is going well despite the regular challenges in the file.
"We will always be looking for more bus drivers to join us, whether it be on the sub list or under contract,” Finch said. “(Superintendent) Ryan Bruce and his team, they have been trying to be proactive and stay ahead of that so that we can fill our bus routes."
The report included data from January to June, as well as a summary for the full school year.
The division cancelled 330 routes from January 2025 to June 2025, and 905 routes over the entire school year. That’s an increase from the 729.5 cancellations the school year before.
Weather was the biggest cause of cancellations with 869 days in 2024-2025. There were also seven days cancelled due to mechanical issues.
According to the report, recruiting and hiring substitute drivers continues to be a challenge. The age of the fleet is also an emerging issue.
In 2022, the board requested more depth and greater detail from the transportation report. Each division in Saskatchewan receives this report from the Ministry of Education four times a year to see how the division's buses, drivers and mechanics are doing. The report is done semi-annually in the division.
The oral report was given by Chief Financial Officer Jerry Pidborochynski and outlined a broader report because of a board request.
The report featured data up to Jan. 31, 2025. The number of students transported has decreased slightly from the previous report in 2024. In 2024-2025 there were 3,278 students transported compared to 3,330 in 2023.
The average age of the bus fleet has decreased from 8.75 years in 2024 to 8.5 years in 2025 because some new buses have arrived and are still waiting to go into service. There are currently 103 transportation routes with 25 contracted out.
Bus passes purchased at a discount rate due to a partnership with the City of Prince Albert to transport city high school students decreased slightly from 2,219 in 2024 to 2,1941 in 2025.
The average urban one-way bus ride is 15 minutes, while the average rural bus ride one way is 26 minutes. The longest urban one-way bus ride is 80 minutes and the longest rural one-way bus ride is 95 minutes.
