School Bus Driver Shortage Continues to Plague the Nation

The epidemic of driver shortages nationwide continues to plague the school bus industry. According to a nationwide survey of transportation professionals and educational leadership, about 88% of schools are experiencing driver shortages, resulting in the elimination of routes and longer travel and wait times for students, overall harming academia.

The driver shortage is largely due to issues with low pay and lack of consistent work. Since the COVID-19 pandemic, though, it has become even less appealing due to health concerns. The majority of school bus drivers are a part of the age group who were most susceptible to becoming more severely ill with COVID. Since the pandemic, recruitment of school bus drivers has become increasingly difficult. Moreover, drivers are retiring or leaving their organizations to join a private industry.

Driver shortages compromise reliable transportation to and from school for students across the country. About 67% of schools recognized a direct link between the shortage and student tardiness. 61% reported experiencing chronic absenteeism. In Long Island, New York, dozens of special education students were left home on the first day back to school, while others dealt with delays due to the operator shortage in Nassau County. Similarly, in Boston, parents of special needs students gathered at City Council chambers to express their frustration with the unreliable bussing system. North Carolina’s largest school district in Raleigh will have 52 fewer bus routes than last year and is expected to continue to reduce them if positions aren’t filled. The list of states that are affected around the country continues.

Officials and organizations around the country are initiating incentives to garner attraction to fill the positions of drivers. Districts in North Carolina and Ohio are offering monetary bonuses for drivers. Governor Hochul in New York expanded eligibility for those who can distribute commercial driver's license road tests to increase accessibility to the positions. Districts around the country are increasing driver pay generally.

While efforts are increasing and different strategies are being put in place to solve the shortage issue, districts around the country are still being negatively affected by the bus operator shortage and in turn, so is the education of thousands of students.