Bus Driver Shortage Pandemic

There’s been an influx of students arriving at and leaving the high school late because of the school district’s major shortage of bus drivers.

“The fact is, we’ve been in a bus driver shortage for many years. Right now it’s just worse and impacts more people directly each day,” said Ms. Maegan Hailey, the driver of Bus 18. Hailey has worked as a bus driver for about five years. She began driving after the Covid-19 pandemic affected transportation services. “I became a bus driver five years ago because of the shortage then,” Hailey said.

The school district currently has about 45 drivers, but they are not enough to sustain over 2,000 students in 6-12 grade. Even the transportation office workers and mechanics have to drive a bus.

The shortage has also affected the distribution of routes among current drivers. Some drivers have longer routes, while others have taken on additional responsibilities. Extra shifts require drivers to wake up earlier and spend more time completing daily tasks. Longer routes can affect the amount of time required to transport students between home and school. Changes in staffing and route coverage can also contribute to differences in transportation times. The shortage also affects driver availability for days off.

With fewer drivers available for coverage, scheduling appointments and time away from work can become more difficult. According to Hailey, the office employees and mechanics also drive buses regularly. Their driving responsibilities affect the time available for administrative and mechanical duties. The transportation office is responsible for handling emergencies and addressing transportation-related calls, including road closures and missed stops. “The head of transportation and the two office positions are supposed to be available for emergencies as well as fielding phone calls about road closures, missed stops, etc. With no one in the office, we’re all on our own a bit,” Hailey said.

Driving a school bus requires many prerequisites, including being over 18 years of age and having a commercial driver’s license. According to the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, a driver must complete 20 hours of instruction, both in the classroom and driving the bus. These requirements can be tedious, and drivers must complete refresher training and testing every 4 years.

Four bus drivers retired in the past year, according to Hailey. However, the school board is providing incentives, such as sign-on bonuses, to promote the hiring of new drivers.

When asked what keeps her driving every day, Hailey identified she finds joy in working with students, and hearing about their day. She grew up in the area, so she knows the Pennsylvania roads and loves working with the school district.

Despite the increased workload, the transportation department works as a team to manage their responsibilities. The team overcomes the lack of drivers every day. Despite long schedules, drivers are still able to transport all of the students who chose to take the bus, and they do so with a smile on their faces.

The shortage continues to affect the transportation schedules of students and the daily responsibilities of bus drivers. The school recruitment levels and route assignments remain factors in how transportation services are organized.