Children on a south-end school bus in Edmonton were dropped off at their home three to four hours after the end of their first day of school on Wednesday.

"We were terrified. I was scared," Colleen Slocombe said of her reaction when her six-year-old daughter didn't show up at her bus stop after attending Westbrook Elementary School in southwest Edmonton.

The child ended her school day at 3:15 p.m. and was supposed to have been dropped off at her stop at 4:45 p.m. When the little girl still hadn't shown up by 6:15, Slocombe sent her husband to look for her. After tracing the bus route in his car, he was able to find the little girl on her bus, about 10 to 15 blocks from her house.

"The bus driver seemed a little lost. I'm not sure if it was a route problem, whether if it was mapped incorrectly," Slocombe said. "He didn't have an explanation although he was apologetic."

"Our daughter was on the bus for over three hours and the only reason we got her when we did was because my husband went out searching for her."

Children provided directions to driver

Her daughter later told Slocombe that the children were directing the driver to their homes. He also offered the children his personal cellphone to call their parents.

Slocombe called both the school and bus operator First Student Canada — which has acquired Laidlaw — to find out where the bus was, but both the offices were closed for the day. The voice mailbox for the bus company dispatch was full. Slocombe ended up calling police and reporting her daughter missing.

The school district posts late buses on a website for parents. But the driver didn't tell anyone that he was running late.

"The communication definitely fell through the cracks and as a bus company, we do apologize for that," said Rick Hughes, the branch manager for First Student Canada. "The communications with our school and our school boards are part of our service contract and you know, we're not happy when this happens."

The first day of school was the same day the company moved offices, meaning phone lines weren't hooked up yet. The driver was running late because of construction in the area and the fact it was his first day on the job.

The whole situation has school board officials concerned. The board has since learned one child didn't get home until 7:30 p.m.

"It's not acceptable. Our expectation is that we will deliver our students in a timely, efficient and effective manner and safe manner," said Lorne Parker, managing director of planning and student transportation with Edmonton Public Schools.

The school bus driver quit after deciding the job wasn't for him. On Tuesday morning, a district supervisor drove the route, apologizing to parents and explaining what happened.

School board officials met with the bus company Thursday and received assurances that this situation would never happen again. However, late Thursday afternoon the school board learned that same bus was running an hour late.

Slocombe's husband, Peter Casianchuk, received an apology and explanation from the district supervisor. But the fact the company didn't have their phone lines hooked up on the first day of school raises questions for him.

"I wonder about the priority of student and parental support in [the company's] business," he said. "That just strikes me as extremely poor planning."