OSTA’s new boss was OC Transpo transit operations control centre manager

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The new boss of the troubled school bus consortium that provides service to students at Ottawa’s two English-language school boards has 24 years of experience in transit operations with the City of Ottawa.

Joel Lemieux was named general manager and chief administration officer at the Ottawa School Transportation Authority (OSTA) on Tuesday. OSTA manages and coordinates student transportation for the Ottawa-Carleton District School Board and the Ottawa Catholic School Board.

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Lemieux, a lifelong Ottawa resident, started his career in transit as a bus driver and most recently worked as the multi-modal transit operations control centre manager, where he coordinated 64 million annual passenger trips across various transit services, OSTA said in a release.

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

In a statement, Lemieux said he was committed to working closely with the OSTA team and its board of directors to “address challenges and implement solutions that meet the needs of the community.”

He is to take the helm at OSTA on April 15.

Only days before school started in September, the families of about 7,500 Ottawa students learned that their school buses had been cancelled as OSTA struggled to cover routes after one bus company did not renew its contract and others struggled to hire drivers.

As of Feb. 29, OSTA had a shortage of about nine drivers and there were 37 long-term cancelled bus runs. 

Vicky Kyriaco, OSTA’s previous general manager, departed the organization in December after she took a leave of absence in October. Cindy Owens, a former Catholic board principal and superintendent, has been the interim operations manager since October. 

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Meanwhile, school boards are facing increasing student transportation costs.

A report to OCDSB trustees released last month warned that the gap between what that board gets from the Ontario government to pay for transportation and what it actually pays could grow to $17 million a year by 2027. The OCDSB received $48.9 million in provincial funding for transportation for the current school year. The actual cost is estimated to be $51.8 million.

The Ministry of Education hired the auditing and consulting firm Deloitte last fall to conduct a third-party review of student transportation at OCDSB and OCSB. The report has not yet been released.

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