Schools are encouraging parents to drop off and pick up their kids.Here are some of the temporary solutions we’re seeing across the country: On top of that, though, administrators and leaders are trying to address problems brought on by the pandemic. Those existing barriers continue to persist.
#National school bus driver shortage drivers#
Can the School Bus Driver Shortage Be Solved?Īs mentioned, struggles with school bus routes and drivers are nothing new. No-shows and extensive delays are common right now, so students and parents have had to find ways to cope with this situation.
#National school bus driver shortage free#
If you prefer to pick up your student until these bus issues have been resolved, please feel free to do so.” In the message, Gentry Middle School principal Josh Johnson wrote, “It is possible for some students not to arrive home until 2-2½ hours after school has been dismissed. In Missouri, an emailed newsletter set some shocking expectations for parents. Some Metro Detroit school districts have been forced to suspend bus routes until they can find drivers. Yes, there are bus route issues at the start of every school year, but things are exceptionally bad right now-even in major cities. For those who can’t or prefer not to use those options, the school bus driver shortage is a nightmare. In fact, some parents are sticking with virtual learning and homeschooling for now. Preparing for school during this pandemic is stressful for many. In the meantime, families are trying to navigate this additional problem.
In previous years, we’ve seen regionalized driver shortages, but nothing to the extent that we’re seeing today.” National School Transportation Association executive director, Curt Macysyn, told NPR, “This back-to-school period is nothing like the previous periods we’ve seen. Unfortunately, that’s what’s happening right now.Īccording to a nationwide survey, at least half of the student-transportation coordinators in this country would describe their school bus driver shortage as “severe” or “desperate.” This type of crisis is unprecedented. What many of us didn’t imagine, however, is that kids wouldn’t have a way to get to school. With the COVID delta variant and mask mandate battles creating chaos and uncertainty, we knew this third year of pandemic teaching wouldn’t be easy. What is causing this latest hurdle in an already challenging school year, and what can be done to fix it? Pandemic Bus Driver Crisis While this isn’t a new problem, it seems worse than ever. Parents and students across the country are scrambling to find alternative transportation due to a school bus driver shortage. "There's no doubt it's a national problem, similar to what we see in service industries as well," Curt Macysyn, executive director for the National School Transportation Association, which represents private school bus contractors, told ABC News.Schools are open, but some students can’t get to campus. Schools across the country - from Pennsylvania to Virginia to Missouri to Ohio to Texas - have reported similar shortages. "COVID just completely exacerbated the bus driver shortage." We have everything that we need except the critical resource - bus drivers," Abbott said. "We have the money, we have the buses, we have the parts. As a result, the district has had to prioritize routes for around 20,000 students who are returning fully in person, leaving about 5,000 kids without the option of riding a school bus. This year, he said the school district was down over 30% - more than 110 drivers - as it was gearing up for the return of students last week. Before the pandemic, Savannah-Chatham County Public School System in Georgia had been down 10% from what it needed, which is manageable, Paul Abbott, executive director for transportation for the district, told ABC News. At the start of the school year, it's not uncommon for school districts to be short bus drivers.
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