Nick McRae, President, School Bus Ontario
The dedication and commitment our teams put forth is worth many recognitions. Each day, our drivers check over 20,000 buses to ensure Ontario’s children get to and from school safely day in and day out. Our teams including drivers, dispatch, mechanics, admin staff, make each school year a start-up success.. Our board of directors deserve acknowledgement on their many hours of dedication for their service in the industry.
At SBO, our strength is in our membership and communication is the key to success As President, I look forward to many conversations on industry issues and continue our safety record in Ontario.
Each day, school buses are an important part of many Ontario lives and families. Daily, parents entrust in excess of 833,000 of Ontario’s children into the care of professional school bus drivers. These dedicated individuals get up in the early morning hours, through rain, sleet, snow and hail to inspect, fuel and warm approximately 20,000 school purpose vehicles across our province. These drivers, with the support of hundreds of mechanics, dispatchers, safety officers and operations employees repeat this process every school day. Families, with children as young as three years of age, depend on their school bus driver to be on time every day so that they can confidently transfer care and responsibility of their child to our education system.
School bus and student transportation service providers are an integral part of our education system and the economy of Ontario. There are just over two million students attending elementary and secondary schools in Ontario – 42.5% of them depend on a bus for transportation. Parents need the buses to be punctual each day so they can get to their jobs and accomplish other daily priorities on time. As well, there are approximately 115,000 teachers who need bus companies to deliver their students promptly so that they can do their job effectively.
Vision, Mission & Values
Every one of the 830,000+ children aboard an Ontario school bus deserves to arrive at school safe, secure, on time and ready to learn.
Vision:
An economically healthy and sustainable industry, safely and reliably serving the growing needs of student transportation in Ontario.
Mission:
To support and enhance the success of our members in the competitive world of school busing.
Values:
- Contribute to student success
- Focus on cost effective and efficient operations
- Commit to continuous improvement
- Embrace diversity in our workplaces
- Make a significant contribution to a greener Ontario
- Anticipate and influence the future state of the school bus industry