A veteran school bus driver from Canada shares his frustrations with a company that cuts corners and leaves drivers feeling undervalued. Despite covering extra routes and going above and beyond, he reveals how his employer’s policies undermine his hard work — and the reasons why it’s so difficult to keep drivers in the industry.
As a school bus driver in Canada, I’ve always taken pride in my work, knowing how important it is to get kids safely to school. But lately, I’ve been feeling more and more frustrated with the company I work for, and I know I’m not alone in this.
I have what’s called a “short run,” meaning my route doesn’t take up a full day. Legally, I’m entitled to three hours of pay, regardless of how long my actual driving time is. But as many drivers know, three hours is hardly enough to live on, especially when you factor in the amount of time and energy it takes to do the job properly.
Lately, I’ve been helping out by covering other routes when needed, and last week, I covered a run every single day. I also ended up with 4 hours of travel pay in addition to my regular pay. Sounds good, right? Well, not exactly.
When I went to get paid, I was told by the company that they would only be paying me 25 minutes of travel pay. Why? Because apparently, since I don’t work a full 3-hour shift each day, they’re deducting the difference from my pay to “make up” the total 3 hours. They said that if I didn’t cover the extra runs, I’d get my full three hours regardless. So, in the end, after all the extra work and time I put in, I’m still getting short-changed.
It’s incredibly frustrating. This company is clearly more interested in their own bottom line than in taking care of their employees. They’d rather find temporary workers from another city—paying for hotels and travel costs—than invest in the drivers who are already working for them. It’s a slap in the face to people like me who show up every day, do the work, and go above and beyond when needed.
I understand businesses have to make money, but the way they treat drivers makes it clear that employees aren’t a priority. We’re just a number. It’s no wonder it’s so hard to keep drivers in this industry when companies like mine treat their workers like this. The stress, the poor pay, and the lack of support are driving people away. And it doesn’t help when they try to justify cutting our pay by claiming it’s somehow our fault for not working enough hours, even when we’re covering extra routes.
If the company really cared about retaining drivers and ensuring we’re doing our best for the kids, they’d pay us fairly for the work we do. Instead, they seem more interested in cutting corners and filling in the gaps with temporary workers, leaving the rest of us feeling undervalued and frustrated.
At the end of the day, it’s not just about the pay. It’s about respect. When you treat your employees like they’re expendable, you’re not just hurting your workers — you’re hurting the kids who rely on us to get them safely to school each day.
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