It will be a busy morning on the roads and in school zones in the metro region after the English School District suspended the contract of a bus company supplying transportation to students at 14 schools in St. John’s, Mount Pearl, Paradise and CBS.
The English School District announced Saturday that it was suspending the services provided by Gladney’s Bus Service Ltd of Portugal Cove-St. Philips due to “fleet and operational safety concerns.”
There are some schools being served by other bus companies today.
Please find this update from NLESD regarding bussing services. https://t.co/QB3MbIhGYM@EDU_GovNL @GovNL pic.twitter.com/eSVMb2Wirh
— NLESD (@NLESDCA) February 13, 2023
The school district is hoping to have bus services in place for affected schools by next Monday, but in the meantime increased traffic is expected this morning and again this afternoon as parents make arrangements to get students back and forth.
Gladney’s is one of the larger school bus companies in the region.
Officials say they were “left with no alternative but to take these steps in order to maintain student safety.”
According to Service NL’s bus inspection records, as of the start of the school year, Gladney’s had 14 buses out of service. Out of service means that on the date of inspection, the bus was found to have defects that would compromise the safe operation of the vehicle and could present a safety risk to the bus driver and/or other drivers.
