CALGARY, Alberta (Sept. 3, 2008) — The combined pressures of high operating costs, low revenue, long walk zones, school choice and poor recruitment and retention have pressed Alberta school transportation to “the breaking point,” according to an Alberta School Boards Association report.

Many of the problems stem from insufficient funding, the report said. According to a related survey, Alberta school boards blame salary and working conditions, combined with a perceived lack of status for their inability to attract new drivers. Similarly, school boards’ tendencies to establish walk limits less than the mandated 2.4 km (1.5 mi), suggest that the province needs to revaluate its funding formula, which is based on eligible riders served.

It may be some time before the province changes its funding formula. According to Alberta Department of Education spokeswoman Kathy Telfer, the department has been working with school boards and contractors for the past year to collect route data that will help determine the best formula. This would also help address walk zone concerns, Telfer said. But the changes would not likely be made for another 18 months to two years.

Declining enrollment and increasing costs have forced Walter Grossenbacher, transportation director for Pembina Hills Regional Division No. 7, to cut 10 percent of his routes over the last eight years. But Grossenbacher, who is also president of the Student Transportation Association of Alberta, said money alone won’t solve the province’s recruitment problems. If the province wants to keep drivers behind the wheel, they will have to do some “creative thinking,” Grossenbacher said.

Tefler said this is also on the department’s radar. The government is looking for ways to bring more skilled workers into the general workforce, including encouraging immigration from outside the province and outside Canada, she added.

The report praised a number of “promising practices,” including using city transit buses for middle and high school students, staggering school start times to allow double and trip runs, and using transfer stops.

Read the whole report online.