TORONTO -- The Ontario Motor Coach Association has begun offering a Bus Driver License Status Check service, which the association says is a practical and affordable way for Ontario bus companies to confirm at regular intervals that their drivers continue to hold a valid license.

Every three months the service checks the drivers license status in the Canadian Ministry of Transportations drivers license database and electronically notifies the bus company of any drivers whose license status has changed.

The service was developed by OMCA with the support of Travelers Insurance, which provided some financial support to OMCA to develop the service. Travelers is a major insurer of bus and coach operators.

"The whole idea is to reduce the risk of improperly licensed bus drivers," said Brian Crow, president of OMCA. "Obtaining a drivers abstract once or twice a year may not be enough because a drivers license status can change at any moment as a result of a suspension, class downgrade or airbrake endorsement change."

Bus companies subscribing to the service electronically submit to OMCA (via a secure website) a driver roster, listing driver license numbers, and class and airbrake endorsement (if applicable).

Once every three months, OMCA submits the license numbers to the Ministry of Transportation for a license status check. The Ministry of Transportation sends the results back to OMCA where they are electronically analyzed for discrepancies.

The bus company is immediately notified by e-mail which, if any, of their drivers has been flagged with a license status discrepancy.

In a pilot test run in December, 18,400 drivers were checked and the service identified drivers who were driving buses without a valid license.

"For just a few pennies per driver per day, it gives me peace of mind that all my bus drivers have a valid license with the proper class and endorsement," said Ron Malette of Tisdale Bus Lines of South Porcupine, Ont. "I also benefit from savings on (Ministry of Transportation) three-year detailed driver abstracts which I can order for any of my bus drivers at any time and view them the following morning without having to leave my office. Now, thats what I call service."

The Bus Driver License Status Check is available to members of the OMCA, the Ontario School Bus Association and the Ontario Public Transit Association.

For more information, go to www.OMCA.com.