School Bus Driver Shortage Root Causes
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- čas přidán 28. 06. 2024
- This episode of School Bus Talk is a discussion of the school bus driver storage from a driver's perspective. The three root causes of the shortage will be examined: 1) Pay & Hours; 2) Licensing & Certification; and 3) Working with Kids & Youth.
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I work as a bus monitor for Durham and it's probably the most difficult right now with the shortage. The biggest issue is the pay, hours, and lack of support
Good point!
My grandmother drove a school bus in rural West Virginia. She started out in the 1970s with a stick shift bus that didn't have power steering on these windy, narrow mountain roads. Some were just barely suitable for a bus.
Wow! That's very cool! Please look for an upcoming School Bus Talk video about driving a 27 year old school bus with over 280k.
Some folks are naturally 'people persons' who enjoy interacting with others. Other folks aren't, and should have *no* contact with the public. They may be fantastic accountants, actuaries, or computer programmers, but they have no patience to tolerate the public. To quote Bruce Hornsby, "That's just the way it is."
Thanks for the comment. I appreciate you. Being comfortable working with kids and youth is essential to be a school bus driver.
As a European schoolbus driver it is very interesting to learn about American schoolbusdrivers.
Thanks for the comment. I appreciate you. What color are school buses in Europe?
@@SchoolBusTalk I live in the Netherlands. In the Netherlands, school buses are driven by taxi companies. The vans (8 persons) drive in the color of the taxi company. We do not drive large buses, except for trips etc., and they are mainly special needs children. Children with ADHD, autism, Down syndrome and physically handicapped children. I drive an electric Fiat van with a range of up to 210 miles. In the winter a lot less.
@@Djekkie-gj7jzThat’s very informative. Thanks for the comment. In the USA, small SB’s that transport less than 16 students are called Type 2. Typically, Type 2 buses transport special needs kids to school. I currently drive Type 1 SB which is the larger machines (>16 passengers) and is used primarily general education kids.
@@SchoolBusTalk In general, only special needs children travel by bus. Other children have to go to school on their own or with their parents or other adults. We pick up each child at the door (they then officially have 2 minutes to get to the bus) and then take them to school. And back in the afternoon of course.
Thanks for the video
I have been an OTR driver in a semi
For 20 years. I see I have many new things to learn
Our school district is bringing in over a trillion dollars which of course goes to everything, there's still no excuse to not paying Fair wages. The fact they design the job around less than 40 hrs to get out of benefits is sickening. My main reason for doing it is a change of pace, giving back to community, some stability and I can still do my regular job, HVAC, part time.
In Canada our problems are similair but Canada is more expensive, so you feel the squeeze more. Also drivers tend to switch to city buses who make 30 something an hour or coach buses who make almost 40 an hour.
Thanks for the comment from Canada. Yes, pay is the top reason for the SBD shortage. I appreciate you.
Don't get me started. 01) Low pay if you work for a district which includes lack of compensation when school is out for the summer. The same can be said when you work for a bus company when they negotiate their contract with a school district. 02) Low or no accountability from either the school district or the bus company. 03) Attitude of the students and sometimes the administration of the school that ride along on field trips. 04) Excessive amount of training required to drive a school bus from both the state DOT level and the Board of Education level. And these are just a few.
Yes yes Steve! Thanks for your comment. I appreciate you.
New subscriber of yours! I’m going into CDL school and looking to possibly add my “S” endorsement. I enjoy working with kids and I already work a full time job but I have no benefits. Some districts offer benefits. But I’m not sure if I can get around my first job schedule
Thanks for subscribing. I appreciate you. Sounds like you’re seeking a change. As a new SBD looking for benefits you may need to take supplemental hours working as campus supervisor or aide to get enough hours to qualify for full benefits. Good luck. I enjoy working in education because it is rewarding and I like the vacation time off.
After 4 years driving school bus, I’m hanging it up. I love the students. But the management and requirements and pressure are too much. The shortage has us more crowded, longer routes, lots of scrambling. Many drivers don’t feel like the admin folks have their backs. I’m gonna miss it. But then again, I’m not.
I appreciate you and your comment. It speaks to how many SBDer’s feel. The licensing and certification requirements are numerous. You’re exactly right about more crowded routes. One person calls in sick and the whole day goes into scramble mode. Sorry about your supervisor is not properly supporting you. That’s a terrible place to be. At the outfit that I work we have a good man in charge, and the boss drives routes when we’re short handed. I pray that you find a new rewarding job. Thanks for your comment.
I will say pay and respect and accountability
Reason is the kids on the bus do not respect the driver. They once they out of classroom they think rules are not on the bus.
I feel ya babb1344. I am fortunate to have an excellent supervisor and onboard video surveillance. I appreciate your comment.
@@SchoolBusTalk I had a camera on the my bus also. I had to show my manager first then to the school principal before the students could be removed from the bus.
Yes, lol thank you for your dedication. I agree the mechanical fall under the hood, even if they might be able to memorize and see what the items are we really have no idea what they’re looking at more of your time should be spent on focusing on techniques to drive the bus safely and keep the kids safe. I love the bus and yes, the pay should be double what it is today and the shortage will be solved.
I agree that the SBD shortage could easily be solved by increasing pay. Thanks for the comment. I appreciate you.
That’s crazy 6 months? I’ve been doing behind the wheel training for about 3 weeks now and will be ready to take my test by the 11th. So in total. Including. Classroom. Is like 6 weeks or so. I couldn’t imagine doing it for 6 months and not be licensed.
Sounds like your in a good effective SBD training program. The rookie that I know of that took six months got held up on difficulty with the written examination. I am in California and the DMV CDL written test is not easy. I had to take it twice. Also, the other thing that slows some rookie training is passing the DOT physical. At the district where I drive, if a trainee is slow through training, then they typically work part-time as a SPED attendant.
Hey man thanks so much for making this video about school buses shortage i agree with you 💯 percent due to the strict requirements on becoming a school bus driver with the mechanic information that should definitely be out of the test honestly that mechanic job to do that determine what's going on not the school bus driver.lol end of the day school bus driver is driving the kids they are not mechanics if they were they will be Fixing the school buses
But all i can say is it got million times worse with the shortage the pandemic people lost all their jobs kids was not be able to go to school but my thing is this the requirements people have to have their driver's license at least three years to order to apply to become a school bus driver which is another reason why what is a shortage in school bus driver industry if they make it at least one year of having your driver's license that would be awesome for people who want to become school bus drivers because not everybody get their driver's license when they turn 18 or 20. The reason why I said that because school bus companies train people to learn how to drive a school bus from scratch sometimes it take 2 months or more. I always wanted to drive school buses right now but the reason why is holding me back due to I have my driver's license for 2 years right now but their requirements are at least 3 years of driving experience with a driver license to order to apply unfortunately. but in Canada their requirements at least one year if united states reduce it to 1 year of having driver license that will be awesome because school bus companies are already training people that will make it more opportunities for people to become a school bus driver. And school bus industry But the pay in your country is so so sad man 20 dollars per hour in salary that so crazy and cruel because person who are 20s or in their 30s fresh out of CDL school will make more money than that in trucking industry and on top of that less experience having a CDL license and a driver's license and on top of that driving a semi truck double with a Class A license but I feel like driving kids school bus drivers should make more bus drivers have more responsibility dealing with kids and disabilities and behavior issues they are human I feel like it unfair for California school bus drivers and others state's in this world and hopefully more school bus drivers can fight to get what they want doing my research this been going on for years with shortage
Thanks cowboy for the comment. I appreciate you. In California where I drive SB, the minimum age to qualify to drive SB is 18YOA. You must have a clean record and be fingerprinted and pass a CHP background check.
Absolute brother anytime I hope and pray they will hire me next year I always wanted to drive schools since I was little kid riding school buses long time ago in my state. To be honest I have no criminal record at all and no points on my license lm all set 🚍🚍🚍🚍🚍🚍🚍🚍
If you have a need for people to do a job that nobody wants to do, you are going to have to pay up. Maybe trim some fat at the school board. I can’t imagine driving a bus full of students that act like they do these days.
Yes, pay and hours are my first root cause of the SBD storage.
Sad that today students are not able to drive the buses. Sadder yet is the fact that the maturity level has declined to hinder this possibility. Back when I was in school, 1960s-70s, students drove, and there were other students that were available to back up the main drivers when needed. I cannot remember an accident, other than the loss of a mirror to a sign post, during my 12 years schooling.
thanks David for the comment. I appreciate you. That must have been back in the day! In my state, you have to be 21YOA to be certified to drive a SB. I know that there are licensing exemptions for kids to operate farm equipment as young as 13. My mom (born 1926) told stories about young people deemed essential (milk delivery) were permitted to drive during WWII. Please like and subscribe to my channel.
Good stuff! I was a school bus driver for years and initially the pay was very low.
Thanks BDL for the nice comment. It’s true. You’re not going to be wealthy as a SBD. Where I work the District pays well compared to others, but it’s still not enough if it’s your only income. Also, if you don’t like kids, then it’s not a good career choice. Our District Psychologist said in presentation that being a SBD is most difficult of all the classified jobs in public education. Again thanks BDL. I watch all your content and for you to take the time to comment on my little starter channel is very cool. School Bus Talk is a passion project for me. I appreciate your encouragement and CZcams friendship.
Yo buddy Keywan. I got $19.51(6yrs) with expensive benefits plus pension last year. This year I make 28 with no benefits to speak of and a 30min commute. I can get 50 hrs a week but its not easy, and break is just around d the corner.
The three causes are kids, kids and kids.
And the parents, parents, and parents
There is an old joke about school bus driving that it’s a great job except for all the kids, lol. I appreciate your comments.😊 Parents kind go along with the kids. In my experience 95% of the parents are fantastic, however there are some hard cases. I did a video “5 Tips for Parents with Kids on the Bus”.
Scuba drivers should be getting paid just as much as a city bus driver gets paid the differences you don’t collect bus fares
What the hell is a scuba driver
No the only difference is most school bus drivers drive 2 hours in the morning and 2 hours in the afternoon the lazy they don't want to drive like city bus drivers
Its the pay when i drove school buses we got paid 29 dollars an hour and got paid for 8 hours even though we only worked 2 hours in the morning and 2 hours in the afternoon
That’s generous compensation. Where’s this outfit? There’s some SBD’s that may want to relocate. Haha.
My bus company would keep people if we got paid like this
Solution? Online learning. Less buses, less climate damage. lol
Online learning maybe for the required 20 hours of SBD classroom instruction. Not practical for the required hours of between the wheel training. In terms of climate change, I argue that SB’s decrease total VT’s because parents are not driving individual students to and from school.
I work as a transit bus driver in a major city and can't understand why anyone would get the same license and be a school bus driver. Less pay and benefits and ironically, seemingly more unspoken responsibilities that have nothing to do with CDL driving. I went to CDL school to drive commercial vehicles, not be a teacher/daycare worker.
I drive school bus because I am semi retired and I don’t want full time work. Bushusky your point is a good one. In California there is more requirements than passing the CDL test. A school bus driver must be examined in writing and behind the wheel by a Highway Patrol Officer.
@@SchoolBusTalk Oh yeah, you have to get that extra 'S' endorsement.
Unfortunately a lot of small to medium sized cities don't have a Transit System to drive for. That is what got me into Driving School Bus in the first place.
Detroit city bus drivers start at 19.00/hr. School bus drivers make 25.00/hr in Michigan.
@@latoshiaguffin6594 That's starting, what's the top pay for Detroit?