Last Stop for Robert Ball & Jack Moreland Bus Lines

Jeff Green | Jun 28, 2023

In 1961, Robert Ball's father started up a small busing company. When Robert was old enough, he got his “B” license and joined the company, and eventually took it over and expanded it. The company now has 7 buses, running routes to Harrowsmith PS and St. Patrick's Catholic School, Loughborough Ps and Sydenham High School.

But all of that will change when school ends this week. The company is being sold to Shawn Geary of McCoy Bus Service of Kingston, as an addition to his charter bus business.

“We really had not choice,” said Rob Ball of the decision him and his wife Lucille made to leave busing now, “the way busing is going it was the best time to sell”.

Along with many other independent bus operators, Ball has been involved in a challenge to way Tri-Board Transportation, which provides bussing services in SouthEastern Ontario, has been planning to parcel out bussing contracts.

Since 2009, Triboard has been planning to implement a Request for Proposal (RFP) contracting system in place of the direct contract renewal system for routes that has been in place for decades. The RFP process creates bundles of routes, which companies can then bid on.

Independent bus owners formed and association and have gone to court on numerous occasions since that time, arguing that the RFP system creates an competitive environment that discriminates against small operators in favour of large bus companies such as Stock Transportation and First Student.

The court challenges have been successful to this point. But before the latest trial date, which was this past March, Triboard and the independent operators reached a settlement.

A new three year contract is being offered under the old system, but in order to secure the contract, the independent operators had to agree not to go back to court to stop Tri-Board from setting out a new RFP at the end of those three years.

“It left me with choice to sell now, when my equipment comes with a three year contract, or sell everything off in three years as old equipment with no guarantee of any contract to make those buses be worth something” said Ball. “Also, used buses are selling for a good price now.”

Ball said that there have been other changes over the years, mainly through extra regulations and insurance costs, which have made the bussing industry difficult, “but I would not be selling now if the circumstances weren't making this the best time for me to do it financially.”

He said that selling to a Shawn Geary is the best for his employees, “because he is local to the area and wants to get into busing, and I think it is best for my drivers, who have been very loyal to us over the years. I will miss it, for sure, but it was inevitable. The same thing happened with Dunham and Cox up north a couple of years ago. You don't want to get stuck with a pile of buses and no route to use them on.”

Jack Moreland blames Ball for his decision to sell his bus.

“I told him it is his fault, because there will be no one left for me to me to talk to,” Moreland said.

But in reality Moreland said he was facing the same situation as Ball. He owns one bus, and he has been running the same route, in addition to a varied career as a farmer, municipal politician and schoolboard trustee, ever since Storrington Public School opened over 55 years ago. His late wife drove the bus for many years, and he has continued on since she died, running the Storrington and Sydenham High School route in recent years.

“I still enjoy it, and had been planning to keep the bus into my 80's,” he said. “A lot of the parents bringing kids to the bus for the first time tell me that I drove them to school when they were kids. I think I have a couple of four generation families.”

Moreland is also selling to Shawn Geary and said he might consider continuing to drive for Geary in the fall.

Robert Ball said he is not likely to be driving too much himself, but he might do some relief driving.

Either way, their will be a change in the busing environment in South Frontenac come the spring, with two of the longest serving family run small bus companies, one with well over 50 years on the road, and one with over 60, will not longr be around.

“I hope Shawn Geary does well with McCoy Transportation getting into school busing, it would be great to have a local company stay in the industry or else it will go to the large companies who don't know much about the local community.”