Maintaining 153 buses continues to be an expensive endeavour for Prairie South School Division, as it spent $720,000 more on repairs last year than in 2022.
The division spent $7,454,323 on maintenance and repairs during the 2022-23 year, compared to $6,733,625 during 2021-22, a year-over-year increase of $720,698, according to a transportation accountability report presented during the Feb. 6 board meeting.
Furthermore, since 2019-20, repair expenses have increased $1,644,035.
Meanwhile, the division spent $1,318,615 in 2022-23 to purchase new buses, compared to $1,110,253 in 2021-22, a year-over-year increase of $208,362.
The report also showed the transportation department conducted 1,096 inspections and repairs — comprised of 153 SGI-mandated inspections and 943 regular service inspections and general repairs — compared to 1,024 inspections and repairs in 2021-22.
Transportation manager Todd Johnson told the board that inflation has caused everything — such as parts, shipping, and fuel — to increase in cost over the past few years. Furthermore, it has become substantially more expensive to purchase buses, something that is unlikely to change.
“The year prior, it was trying to get the buses on time … . Now the prices are set and they’re just increasing from there,” he said.
Ron Purdy, business superintendent, said it’s going to cost $1.7 million this year to purchase buses since prices “have gone just crazy.”
Daily routes
During the 2022-23 school year, buses drove 18,304 kilometres daily and transported 2,765 students on 106 total bus routes, the report said. Buses on the 58 northern routes travelled 8,468.66 kilometres daily, while buses on the 48 southern routes motored 9,816.89 kilometres daily.
Also, the division transported 110 more students last year than in 2021-22.
“We know from looking at the GPS … (and) chatting with bus drivers that not every child rides every day, so those routes are very rarely at the maximum,” said Johnson, adding geography and where students live dictate how long pupils are on the bus.
Average ride times
The average ride time for urban students was 14 minutes, while the average ride time for rural pupils was 34 minutes, the report said.
The least amount of time students spent riding the bus in the morning was one minute in Rockglen, while students attending Lindale spent the most time at 101 minutes. Meanwhile, other rural students spent between 34 and 95 minutes riding the bus in the morning.
The report noted that 116 students spent more than 75 minutes riding the bus in the morning.
Vehicle incidents
Prairie South buses experienced 19 incidents last year, with two due to other motorists’ fault, six for buses striking vehicles, six for buses striking fixed objects and five for animals striking buses.
The incidents’ total cost was $5,469.12, although eight involved little damage and were not reported to SGI, while mechanics fixed the other damages during regular maintenance, the report said. Meanwhile, the division wrote off three buses altogether.
Johnson hoped that mechanics finished training this year on maintaining propane-powered buses, which will allow PSSD to certify its vehicles — and save money — instead of having a shop in Saskatoon do it. He said seven of the 10 buses the division purchased recently are propane-powered, and while electric vehicles exist, there is very little data on their usefulness.
Newer buses
The division has purchased more buses recently because there is “still quite a bulge” of 2009 models that it bought after the amalgamation, said trustee Shawn Davidson. Since those vehicles are aging — they are used mainly in Moose Jaw — the organization has increased fleet renewal in the past few years.
Davidson pointed out that electric buses are available and come with enhanced safety measures, such as extended stop arms, seatbelts and 360-degree-view cameras. However, using them in rural areas could be counterproductive since dust clogs the cameras — and that technology drives up vehicle costs, too.
Another challenge with e-buses is ensuring there is enough electricity to charge them since they require an 80-amp breaker, while most rural drivers have farms operating on 200 amps, he continued. It’s unlikely that those employees would put an e-bus’s requirements over the needs of their farm animals.
“At this point in time, the technology is probably really impractical, for rural school divisions in particular,” Davidson said, adding the vehicles’ heavier weight also prevents them from travelling on rural roads and bridges.
The next PSSD board meeting is Tuesday, March 5.
