Do you really know what’s going on in your child’s yellow bus? Vulgar or aggressive drivers, turbulent students out of control, lost children. The newspaper peeled hundreds of complaints related to school transport.
“We sit in the bench”, “we don’t hit”, “we don’t spit on the ground”, had to repeat a school bus firewood with gold patience during a 45 -minute journey aboard which The newspaper was able to embark.
“It takes patience,” admits driver Mélissa Girard with a smile. “You have to repeat a lot”.
Throughout the weekend, The newspaper has published a file on school transport in Quebec. Longue children, turbulence and intimidation between students, vulgar or dangerous drivers: the list of identified problems and their recurrence are surprising.
Several parents believe that the province is ripe for a great reflection on the quality of this service.
In order to take the pulse of the field, the representative of Journal was able to accompany Mme Girard for an afternoon. Two circuits were made from two primary schools from the English-speaking Sir-Wilfrid-Laurier Anglophone School Board in Lanaudière.
The first had 24 students from the Pinewood school in Mascouche.
Although the journey was rather quiet, Mme Girard had to launch five times at the Petit Logan* (fictitious name) to sit.
“He took my mitt”
It was during the second journey, which started from the primary school Heritage in Saint-Lin-Laurentides, that the benevolent phlegm of the driver became obvious.
“Sébastien*, look at me. I know that you are able to remain quiet, ”she must have said to a young boy already warned several times.
From start to finish, 4 boys had to be summoned a total of 16 times to sit during the 45 -minute journey, sometimes aloud, sometimes at the microphone.
“He took off my hat,” complained a student. “He took my mitt and threw him on the ground,” he added later. “We see her pants,” made a youngster.
“Hey, we don’t hit, guys,” possibly warned Mme Girard. “We don’t spit on the ground, my big one,” she also had to recall.
Rafale curiosity
Towards the end of the journey, a girl sitting at the front began to assault the driver of questions.
“Is there someone who cleanses the bus?” What color is your car? Why is there no belt on the bus? “
The driver then explained to her that the front bench is designed to protect her in the event of a shock. “That’s why it’s important to sit down,” said Mr.me Girard.
All this, keeping your eyes on a sometimes winding road, without ever raising the tone or seemingly exasperated. A normal course, what!
And the vehicle had only 17 students. The maximum possible is 72 young people.
When children must guide the driver
While motorists are all subscribed to GPS and other technological tools, school bus drivers often have only a sheet of paper to orient themselves.
Mélissa Girard knows her journey by heart, just like the names of the students who must land at each stop. Several parents who came to welcome their young people welcomed her and thanked warmly.
But like any good human being, she must be absent when she is sick.
“Madam, why was it a gentleman [qui nous conduisait] the other day? ” questions the young Olivia*. “We had to help him at the start,” adds the little girl.
Because yes, in several regions, it happens that children of primary age must help a driver replacing to orient themselves and identify the right stops, could see The newspaper through the hundreds of complaints examined.
“Hosting”
Last September, students from the same school as that of Olivia* remained taken for three hours in a bus whose journey turned to chaos.
Due to road work, the chairman was completely lost, to the point where the panic children believed they were kidnapped.
A extremely rare situation, do you tell yourself?
Not that much. On March 11, Laval students were “taken hostage” by a driver unable to retreat in a cul-de-sac. For 30 minutes, she refused to move forward, horny so that cars were moved and refusing to let young people descend, even when their parents were outside.
“It was screaming, it shouted […] The children experienced trauma, ”says Michelle Millier, grandmother of one of the boys on board.
The other drivers have never had this difficulty, however, adds Mme Thousand, who has lived in the same place for 47 years.
Since then, a new driver has been assigned to this circuit, indicates the Laval school service center (CSS).
“Left-right”
Beyond the lack of competence of certain drivers, many are really left to themselves. Often, a replacement will have only one sheet of paper called “left-right” to orient itself.
Recall that English -speaking school boards (CS) located in the region must cover a huge territory. Their students often frequent a school located in another city, which makes them particularly dependent on yellow buses in a context of shortage of drivers.
“We transport 80% of our students every day, or more than 10,000 young people,” says Maxeen Jolin of the Sir-Wilfrid-Laurier CS Communications Service. “But each incident is too much.”
*The names of the children were changed for fictitious first names.
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