![]() ![]() Jacobs said the school system did get some new buses thanks to grants over the past couple of years, and the state pays for a large portion of maintenance costs. "By 10 years, the ones on these dirt roads, the front end has gone out from under them." "It does beat them up pretty bad," said Jacobs. Rural areas also have to deal with more maintenance costs for buses that drive on dirt roads and roads that have not been maintained well in less populated areas. "They say, 'my route is two hours now, and it used to be 45 minutes. "That deters the driver, too," said Floyd. For example, he had to cut one route in the town of Woodland because a bus driver retired, and there was no one to fill the position. Floyd said some of the routes are getting even longer. There has been some talk about doing a statewide salary scale for bus drivers."Īnother issue facing rural areas is longer bus routes. it's really a part-time job…so I think the pay is somewhat restrictive on it. "I just think people are not interested in driving buses," said Jacobs. Jacobs said he hoped that something would happen statewide to encourage more people to get their CDL license and drive school buses. "I wish we could pay our drivers more," Randolph County Superintendent John Jacobs said. While some districts have increased the pay for school bus drivers, rural counties in Alabama are struggling to find funds to do so. "But if you just need a day off to go do something, you might not have a driver, so you don't get to go." "You can go into the school and write in for a sick day or a personal day, and there ain't no negotiation you get it," said Jennings. ![]() He said he has experienced a time when he needed a day off and was unable to get it. He enjoyed his time behind the wheel but said things have become more difficult with fewer drivers. Randy Jennings has been a bus driver for 17 years in Randolph County and will retire this November. "This younger generation just doesn't want to, and it's not a bad job." "The bottom line is, people don't want to work anymore," Floyd said. Still, drivers only have to work about four hours a day and can elect to get a paycheck year-round, along with benefits, so being unable to find drivers has been frustrating for Floyd. But we're so rural, and our routes are so long that it's different in a rural setting than it is in a city." "I have managed to keep the routes covered. ![]() "We haven't gotten to the point yet where drivers have got to run two routes," said Floyd. Some bus drivers cannot take days off when needed because there is simply no one to fill the seat.įloyd himself and two mechanics that work with transportation have had to step in and drive buses themselves. I have to get all of these routes covered." Especially with football, volleyball and softball, and field trips, too. "I constantly stay on the phone trying to get the routes covered. While finding drivers and substitute drivers is challenging, transportation supervisor Benny Floyd said he is doing all he can to get students to and from school. In east Alabama, the Randolph County School system has 37 bus routes. In Alaska, the Anchorage School District called in active duty airmen to help transport students to school. Alabama is no exception.Īccording to a national survey by HopSkipDrive, 88% of respondents reported having driver shortage issues. “We are also highlighting the school bus driver position - accentuating the position - summer vacation, flexible hours, potential built-in child care.From Alaska to Rhode Island and even Hawaii, there is a school bus driver shortage impacting school systems, transportation officials and families across the nation. “In this environment, driver retention becomes more critical,” he said. The school bus driver shortage is definitely pandemic-driven, according to Curt Macysyn, executive director of the National School Transportation Association, which conducted a national survey with two other trade associations.īecause many districts were fully remote or hybrid last year, the industry lost a full cycle of driver recruitment, he said. Retirements went up as drivers worried about driving busloads of potentially infected children. “Some days, I know management is driving the buses,” she said. Highlander buses most of its middle and high school students from Providence to Warren, a drive many parents can’t squeeze into their work schedules. ![]() “If a bus doesn’t run to Bristol, it impacts attendance,” said Rose Mary Grant, head of school at the Highlander Charter School. ![]()
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