Extra School Buses secured to meet demand

09/16/2021

The Mohawk Council of Kahnawà:ke wishes to inform the community that it will be entering into an agreement with a school bus provider for four (4) new school buses to address issues caused by the reduced capacity of the current school bus fleet due to COVID-19 restrictions.

Though the previous school year was impacted by the pandemic, the decision of most schools to move towards remote learning meant that Kahnawà:ke’s Daily School Bus Transportation Department was able to maintain services as needed. However, students have returned to in-school learning for the new school year. Public Health/Public Safety were consulted and issued guidance that would require a strict one-student-per-seat limit (except for immediate family members living in the same house) to provide for the health and safety of students while being transported aboard the school buses. This meant that the existing fleet had to make extra trips to accommodate all of the students, which has resulted in late arrivals and pick-ups for some students.

As this situation was deemed unacceptable, Daily Transportation Manager Spencer McComber began the process of outreach to the various entities to gather information and determine the resources needed to address the issue. Once this was done, the recommendations to lease four new vehicles for a period of one (1) year were brought forth for the approval of the Ratitsénhaienhs. The proposal was brought to the duly-convened Council Meeting this past Monday and was supported by Consensus.

The vehicles will need to be prepared to meet current COVID-19 standards (plexiglass enclosures for the drivers before delivery). Additionally, four (4) new drivers will have to be hired to operate the buses. The total cost of this measure has been estimated at $268,500. The community will be informed once the new additions to the fleet are operational.