New school bus consortium boss out after less than four months

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The new general manager of the consortium responsible for school bus transportation for students in Ottawa’s two English school boards has departed — less than four months after he took the helm.

In a statement, the Ottawa Student Transportation Authority confirmed a change of leadership with Joel Lemieux, a former OC Transpo transit operations control centre manager, departing and Cindy Owens, who was previously interim general manager, again taking on that role.

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No reason was given for Lemieux’s departure.

“As interim operations manager for OSTA, Ms. Owens led the organization’s efforts to address last year’s school bus driver shortage and successfully helped OSTA reinstate all transportation services managed by OSTA,” said an email sent to parents on Sunday.

Ottawa’s 2023 school bus saga began only days before the first day of classes, when the families of about 7,500 students, mostly in the west end, learned their school buses had been cancelled. OSTA grappled with routes after one company didn’t renew its contract and others struggled to hire drivers in a tight labour market.

That left families scrambling to drive children to school or to find alternative transportation on short notice. By early October, OSTA still needed 71 more drivers, though that was down from 130 at the beginning of the 2023-24 school year.

On Oct. 2, OSTA’s board announced that general manager Vicky Kyriaco was taking a leave of absence, followed two days later by another announcement that Owens, a former Catholic board principal and superintendent of human resources, would be the interim operations manager.

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In early December, OSTA announced that Kyriaco had departed. On Dec. 19, she filed a lawsuit claiming constructive dismissal.

The statement of claim alleged that Kyriaco had warned the Ottawa-Carleton District School Board and the Ottawa Catholic School Board of the threat that buses would be cancelled months before it happened, but the school boards delayed notifying the public and she ended up being scapegoated.

The lawsuit seeks $500,000 in damages plus two years’ salary.

According to the boards’ statement of defence, Kyriaco posted the communication on June 19 and it was delayed only one business day. But many parents didn’t learn the specifics of how they’d be affected until just before school started last fall.

None of the allegations has been tested in court.

OSTA announced the hiring of Lemieux in March, adding he was to begin work on April 15.

According to that announcement, Lemieux was a lifelong Ottawa resident who started his career in transit as a bus driver and more recently worked as multimodal transit operations control centre manager, co-ordinating 64 million annual passenger trips across various Ottawa transit services.

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“His experience managing complex operations and fostering collaborative working relationships will be instrumental in driving positive change and improvements within OSTA,” the announcement said.

In an update on the driver shortage posted in mid-July, OSTA said it was continuing efforts to minimize bus and van driver shortages.

There were 71 new yellow school bus drivers in training — or in the queue to begin training — to backfill 22 vacant positions from the end of the 2023-24 school year, OSTA said. Another 18 drivers are expected to begin the 2024-25 school year on leave.

Contracted school van transportation companies are also “reporting robust staffing numbers for the fall,” OSTA said.

“These are all encouraging signs, particularly since preliminary agreements are in place with all school bus operators to provide service for the 2024-25 school year. However, the attrition rate can be as high as 40 per cent in new school bus driver training, and there is always a spike in driver resignations just prior to the start of the school year,” it said.

Staff closely monitor the situation by meeting with each contracted school bus company throughout the summer, OSTA added. “As a result of these meetings, staff are proactively redeploying resources from areas of the city projected to have stronger driver numbers to those where the numbers are expected to be more challenging.”

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A select number of Grade 7-12 students are being shifted to public transportation to allow for redeployment of yellow buses to areas where they are most needed.

“Planning optimization will continue throughout the summer to ensure that fall service rolls out as smoothly as possible,” OSTA said.

The next driver update is scheduled for mid-August and is to be posted on the OSTA website.

In a statement released Thursday, OSTA was upbeat about the launch of its revitalized brand identity and a new website “anchored in OSTA’s core values of trust, care, accessibility, inclusiveness and community connection.”

“The redesigned logo features abstract silhouettes symbolizing joyful, safe, and trusted school children,” the release said. “The colour palette, inspired by nature, includes calming greens and blues that convey stability and reliability. The typeface, EFFRA Bold in all caps, ensures readability and visual impact. Notably, the acronym OSTA remains central, with the word ‘Authority’ removed from the logo to reflect a shift towards a more collaborative partnership with the community.”

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The new brand identity “marks a fresh start for OSTA, reflecting its commitment to leadership, modernization, inclusiveness, and community connection,” Thursday’s statement said.

“In response to the challenges faced in 2023, OSTA has prioritized rebuilding community trust and reinforcing its position as a reliable and caring provider of transportation services. The updated brand identity and website are key components of this initiative.”

That same Thursday statement quoted Lemieux as expressing enthusiasm for the rebranding.

“This revitalized brand and new website represent a significant milestone for OSTA,” he said in the statement.

“Our goal is to rebuild trust with the community by demonstrating our commitment to being a reliable, caring, and inclusive transportation provider. We are excited to embark on this new chapter and look forward to better serving our students and their families.”

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