It was close to midnight, but an agreement was finally reached with bus operators ensuring school transportation would resume for the start of the academic year.
Quebec and the Fédération des transporteurs par autobus (FTA) announced Friday that an agreement in principle was reached.
The agreement "ensures a reliable and safe transportation service for all students for the start of the school year and allows for the support of school service centres and school boards in the adoption of school transportation contracts," according to a news release issued Friday afternoon.
The agreement, which will be recommended for adoption by the FTA board of directors, covers a six-year period.
No details have been made public yet.
Education Minister Jean-François Roberge called the agreement a "significant investment" and added that it "promotes greater stability in the school transportation sector, guarantees the safety of students and, all in all, meets many of the transport expectations."
The details are confidential because contracts are not signed by the government itself, but by the school service centres and school boards, many of which must now enter into agreements with their respective operators.
Several of these contracts expired on June 30 and, faced with the threat of a break in service, Quebec City mandated Claude Sauvageau to act as special negotiator in this matter last Wednesday.
The renewal of the contracts was complicated by the fact that the school bus companies have been hit hard by inflation, particularly when it comes to fuel.
Companies in the sector are also faced with a labour shortage.
This report was first published in French by The Canadian Press on Aug. 19, 2022.
