School bus safety issues no worse than previous years, says school district

The brake, fuel line and vehicle problems which forced 15 buses out of service in recent weeks are no more widespread than years past, according to a school district official.

• 8 school buses pulled off road following inspections on the Avalon
• School buses taken off road for leaking brake lines, broken emergency gear

Terry Hall, the assistant director of education with the Newfoundland and Labrador English School District, saidTuesday that awareness of the vehicle problemsis higher this year but that doesn't mean the buses are in worse shape.

"I wouldn't say that it's any worse or any different," he told CBC'sHere and Now.

"I think the awareness is heightened, given the incidents that happened a few weeks ago with the bus going [off the road] in Shea Heights."

15 buses have been forced off the road in the last three weeks, following a number of inspections by Service NL. That includes the eight buses that were forbidden from carrying passengers on Friday.

One bus company, its inspection station and a mechanic were also charged with 100 breaches of the Highway Traffic Act last week.

• 'Absolutely no excuse': for unsafe buses on roads, school district says

However, Hall says there are more than 100 contractors for the English School District, and "a large number of contractors out there...are doing great work and have safe buses."

Something to be done: NDP

The school district and Service NL are promising all buses will be inspected by Nov. 18, as part of a series of routine checks throughout the year.

The NDP'sLorraine Michael says that isn't quick enough, and says parents are now worried about whether their children are safe on school buses.

"Why weren't these inspections done prior to school opening? Why is it that we're only hearing about this now?" she asked.

Buses are inspected three times a year, but only one of those inspections is performed by Service NL.

• Union calls for more frequent, independent school bus inspections

Michael says bus operators have been complaining that the tender process is forcing them to cut costs. She said the problem has been around for decades, and it's time for the provincial government to act.

"You can't use a bookkeeping approach to putting money in place for safe buses," she said.

• 'Certainly no surprise': School bus operator blames public tender act for faulty buses

Operators need to step up?

But the new president of the Newfoundland and Labrador Federation of School Councils says the operators themselves need to step up.

Paulette Fifield says it's clear that there is "a weakness in the system," when multiple bus companies are failing inspections.

She says her group is assured that the school district is doing what it can to ensure buses are safe, and feels the operators need to be much more stringent in their standards.

"Bus companies have to get the message that they can't have these buses on the road that are unsafe," she said.

Hall added that he did not want to dismiss any concerns from the bus operators, but said it's expected a company will deliver a service appropriately if it bids for a contract.

"They are fully aware of the requirements that they have. So when they put in a bid, we expect that it's a fair process...and we expect that the bid they put in is going to cover their costs."