Anna Langdon says its the personal connection that will be lost if multi-national companies force out two smaller Mapleton bus companies.
“The kids are like family to me,” said Langdon, who for almost two decades has taken pride in driving local children to school.
She and her husband, Dave, currently hold three bus routes within the Upper Grand District School Board (UGDSB) – one that travels to Elora Public School and two to Centre Wellington District High School. The couple runs the business out of their home on Wellington Road 17, east of Alma.
In January, Wellington-Dufferin Student Transpor-tation Services, which is in charge of school buses for the UGDSB, put 25% of its 439 bus routes to a competitive bid process.
The consortium was one of three Ontario consortiums selected to participate in a Ministry of Education pilot project.
All but two of the 105 routes that went to public tender were awarded to either Student Transportation of Canada Inc., a subsidiary of an American company which operates locally under the name Elliott Coach Lines, or Stock Transportation, another multi-national firm.
Several small, independent bus companies in the county – including Denny Bus Lines in Ospringe, Brenmar Transit in Harriston, Cook Bus Lines in Mount Forest and Epoch’s Garage in Kenilworth – lost most or all of their routes to the large multinational firms.
The Langdons escaped the first round of public tenders unscathed because they hold only three routes, but they are concerned about what will happen next January, when the remaining 75% of the local consortium’s routes go to tender.
“We’re very worried,” Anna Langdon said, adding she doesn’t know if they can even compete with the larger firms. She also noted the process requires a lot of time and money be invested with no guarantee of any return on that investment.
“We’d be finished [if we lost our routes]. I’d have to go find work elsewhere,” she said. “I just think it’s a shame it’s going this way. It’s sad, getting rid of all those small Canadian companies.”
One of those companies is Drayton-based Cherrey Bus Lines, which stands to lose two rural routes to Centre Peel Public School next January. Owner Allan Cherrey also expressed frustration with the process.
“You either have to get big or go out [of business],” Cherrey said of what the tendering means for small, local companies. “I think the consortium wants to deal with as few operators as they can.”
He noted Cherrey Bus Lines, which also holds school bus routes in Waterloo region, will bid not only on its own two routes, but several others as well.
“I think we have to. Two won’t cut it – [the consortium] won’t go with two,” he said. “I think we’re better to be part of the process.”
Cherrey took a less rigid stance than other independent operators, who suggested service may suffer as a result of multinational bus companies assuming local routes.
“I think the intent of drivers is primarily safety, regardless of who they work for,” he said.
However, he does not foresee an end to the tender process after the ministry’s pilot project is completed.
“Without a doubt, the whole province will go [to tender],” he said.
Bruce Schieck, the UGDSB trustee for Mapleton, said he is also opposed to the tendering process. He said trustees were not afforded an opportunity to vote on the matter.
But Cherrey said there has to be some relationship between the board and the consortium, which actually volunteered to be part of the pilot project.
“At the end of the day, the board owns the routes and gave the consortium the business,” Cherrey said.
