4/8/2023 0 Comments Bus driver shortageNationwide, the median annual wage for school bus drivers was $37,910 in May 2021, according to the U.S. Kathy Hochul announced a multi-agency plan to recruit school bus drivers across the state, an effort that includes reaching out to already licensed commercial drivers, using Department of Labor information to recruit drivers who are currently unemployed, and expediting the process for CDL completion.Įven before the pandemic, low pay was chasing away drivers. But it captures sentiments about a definite trend. Notably, the survey left it up to respondents to interpret its terms, and it did not compare respondents’ perceptions with actual employment numbers. Fifty-seven percent of respondents reported “considerable” school bus driver shortages in urban districts, the issue rises to 69 percent. “Some kids got to school early and some kids got to school late to be able to get everybody there as best as we could.”Ī recent survey conducted by the public policy research organization RAND questioned leaders in 359 districts and charter schools across the country about labor shortages in the 2021-22 school year. “In some drastic instances, we had to literally double the routes in some areas,” Wester said. Even now, students in some districts across the country are getting to school almost an hour late due to the lack of drivers. That was a huge loss to us.”Īs a region, Wester said upstate New York lost about 10 percent of its school bus driving staff during the height of the pandemic. “They were part of our population that was at higher risk. “When COVID hit, a lot of people decided that that extra cash that they made with us was not worth it to be sitting on a bus with 40, 50, 60 kids that could have COVID and spread it to them,” said Brett Wester, upstate New York region manager for National Express, a multinational transport company that owns Durham School Services, Quality Bus Services and Monroe School Transportation, three school bus operators in the region. Once schools reopened, the career also became less appealing to some drivers because of health concerns. Some decided to retire or not keep their bus driving licenses. The pandemic thrust school bus drivers into uncertainty, not knowing when they would return to work. Joseph Morelle, D-Rochester, who has worked on legislation to address the issue. It has pretty significant implications for kids,” said U.S. The shortages cause some students to miss out on learning time. There continues to be a 15 to 20 percent shortage in New York, based on data provided by contractors to the New York School Bus Contractors Association. More than 18 months after nearly all schools returned to in-person learning, more than half of the country’s school districts are still facing school bus driver shortages.
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