#National school bus driver shortage drivers

The average number of days in the hiring process is 16, with the Northeast averaging 17 days, the Midwest and the South averaging 16 days, and the West averaging 22 days.Only 1% of respondents indicated that bus driver shortage is not a problem for them. Roughly two-thirds of all respondents (65%) indicated that bus driver shortage is their number one problem or concern.Fifty-one percent (51%) of respondents described their driver shortage as “severe” or “desperate.” Roughly three-quarters of all respondents (78%) also indicated that the school bus driver shortage is getting “much worse” or “a little worse.”.Ninety-one percent (91%) of respondents said they have altered service to elementary schools, 90% have altered service to middle schools, and 83% have altered service to high schools.Seventy-nine percent (79%) of respondents in the Northeast said they have altered service, 77% in the Midwest, 66% percent in the South, and 80% in the West. Every region of the country is currently altering transportation service due to COVID.Oglesby said districts must work together to resolve the immediate problems and to come up with a more permanent solution to the shortage.Īnd on the idea of bringing in the Ohio National Guard to help drive buses, Oglesby said he's concerned that those personnel need to have the checks, training and other requirements that the law demands. Mike DeWine says Attorney General Dave Yost will expedite those checks.

#National school bus driver shortage drivers

One thing also noted by districts was the delay in getting required background checks for drivers completed - sometimes as long as 60 days. 6% of respondents as a reason they felt candidates weren't hiring on as drivers. While the driver shortage has become critical during the pandemic, COVID was cited by only. Oglesby said driving a bus was once considered a good job for retirees or stay-at-home parents, but now he said more people are looking for full-time positions. The split-shift hours the drivers have to work were thought to be a problem for 52.3% of candidates, and 45% of districts said benefits were a reason. And people that come in, they're like, 'that's not enough money for me to take on that kind of responsibility'.' 'The responsibility and liability with this job is very high. It's making sure they're safe,' Oglesby said. 'It's not just getting behind the wheel and driving kids places. But Oglesby noted there's a lot of responsibility for a bus driver. 63.7% of districts said they thought pay was the reason people weren't taking bus driver jobs.Ĥ5% of districts report paying drivers between $16 and $18 an hour, and 33.9% said they paid between $19 and $21 an hour. The districts that responded said overwhelmingly, they feel pay is the biggest reason they can’t find drivers. Parents or caregivers then have to get their kids to school themselves or the students miss class that day. 3.3% said they've had to cancel routes every day. 14.1% said they had to cancel a few times a week. A quarter of districts report they have had to cancel routes once a week. There's also some competition for drivers from the commercial trucking industry.Ģ3.4% of Ohio school districts that responded to the survey described their situation as being 'in desperate need'. And that, right there alone, is quite a big issue,' Oglesby said.Ī flood of recent retirements is fueling the shortage, which has been building for a while.

“We have over 50% of our responses saying that they have to cancel routes at one time or another. Oglesby got 333 responses to his survey that went to Ohio’s over 600 districts, which is a high return rate. The goal was to find out the real, daily impact of the statewide and national school bus driver shortage.ĭave Oglesby is the president of the Ohio Association for Pupil Transportation and assistant bus supervisor for Kettering City Schools. More than 40% of school districts are reporting having to cancel bus routes regularly, according to a survey sent out to districts around Ohio.