The Alberta authorities is eradicating one layer of coaching for college bus drivers within the province, a transfer that it says will deliver the province consistent with the remainder of Canada and assist deal with shortages within the sector.
Aspiring college bus drivers at the moment must take necessary entry stage coaching (MELT) to get their Class 2 licence, which is required to drive sure college buses in Alberta.
“Alberta is an outlier on requiring MELT for Class 2 licences, as no different province or territory in Canada requires it for his or her bus drivers,” mentioned transportation minister Devin Dreeshen.
“Eradicating this requirement will make it simpler for Albertans to acquire their Class 2 licence if they’re able to exhibit the required data and expertise in the course of the data and street take a look at.”
The province mentioned drivers should nonetheless receive an endorsement on their licence to be able to drive a faculty bus that reveals they’ve been educated in loading passengers, defensive driving, emergencies and different areas.
There may also be voluntary on-the-job coaching for drivers to make sure they’ve the talents wanted to function a bus safely, mentioned the province.
The change will go into impact April 23.
College boards and oldsters have been elevating crimson flags about bus driver shortages for at the least just a few years.
As of December, the Calgary Board of Schooling (CBE) mentioned 34 out of 603 college bus routes didn’t have a regularly-assigned driver and the Calgary Catholic College District (CCSD) mentioned 10 to 12 of 235 bus routes didn’t have a driver.
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