(Image Credit: File photo/northeastNOW Staff)

By Cam Lee

Offering $1,000 bonus

Horizon SD bus contractor seeking bus drivers

Mar 4, 2026 | 11:14 AM

The challenge of finding school bus drivers is a wide-ranging issue. 

That is the case for Horizon School Division, as the bus service company they contract, Southland Transportation, is offering a bonus of up to $1,000 for new drivers. 

The drivers will serve areas like Raymore, Wynyard, Punnichy, Wadena, Kelvington, and Humboldt. 

Southland Transportation will fully take over bus services for Horizon School Division in April, with all 139 division routes being contracted to the company. 

Horizon Director of Education Kevin Garinger told northeastNOW that bus services are a challenge throughout not only the division, but also around the province, the country, and North America as a whole. 

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“My meetings with colleagues in the United States…really highlight the challenge they have in recruiting bus drivers,” Garinger said.  

He said families are impacted most when there’s a shortage of drivers. 

“It’s about not having that transportation option to get their children [to and] from school, and we transport right around 3,000 students in our system.” 

According to Garinger, bus drivers play a critical role, as they handle the most prized resource each day, and it’s an important responsibility. Bus drivers are also the first people students see during the day other than their families. The need for bus drivers is especially strong in rural areas like Horizon School Division, with many farm families that require busing services to get their children to and from school. 

“We have amazing people doing that work, but at the same time trying to make sure that we continue to have that opportunity sustained for folks is really important,” Garinger said. 

The role is further complicated in that it’s a split shift, with transport happening in the morning and after school. Garinger said they’re grateful for the drivers they have, and they’re hoping the recruitment incentives bring in more interested individuals. 

“Southland is always looking for drivers to be spares even, to start out, or to take on routes,” said Garinger.  

There is also a need for drivers to fill in when regular drivers have holidays or cannot drive on certain days of the week. Garinger said recruiting sub drivers for this support is critical, and that can lead to regular route opportunities if they so choose as the need is always there. 

If you sign up to the Southland Transportation recruitment program, the fees required to become a driver are taken care of, and drivers can receive $1,000 paid out after six months of driving. Garinger said they also pay a competitive wage in comparison to other bus companies in the province. 

Garinger said the Horizon School Division board decided to contract bus services to Southland Transportation as they have infrastructure in place to be able to provide the service better than Horizon could. The division had contracted about 60 per cent of their services prior to signing the agreement with Southland. 

“They are focused on just transportation,” Garinger explained. “We are focused on a whole bunch of other areas, in particular around student learning and safe-and-caring, and that sort of thing.” 

Anyone interested in becoming a driver for Horizon School Division can go to their website or contact their office. 

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cam.lee@pattisonmedia.com