Bus Driver Shortage Forces Schools to Cut Service, Pay Parents to Transport Kids

livemint.com:

Philadelphia schools are coping with a bus-driver shortage by paying parents to drive their children to class. The School District of Philadelphia is paying families $300 a month to opt out of the school bus system and transport their children to and from school. More than 8,500 families have signed up for the program for the current school year, said Monique Braxton, a spokeswoman for the district.

The move is expected to cost the district $31.2 million this school year. The program helps relieve the strain on the school’s bus system, Braxton said. The district employs about 200 bus drivers but has about 100 open positions, she said.

The district had nearly 200,000 students last year. “If your child’s school is on the way to your work, this is a win-win," Braxton said. Staffing for school bus drivers, like many other professions, fell during the Covid-19 pandemic and has yet to bounce back in many parts of the country.

Some districts are cutting bus routes to deal with the shortages, while others are trying to recruit more drivers. Another pressure on the industry is job hopping, which has become more common, especially since the pandemic, said Molly McGee-Hewitt, executive director of the National Association for Pupil Transportation, a trade association for the school-bus transportation industry. “People don’t seem to stay in positions as long as they used to," McGee-Hewitt said.

In Kentucky, school bus service for Jefferson County Public Schools got off to a chaotic start this year. The district was forced to cancel classes for more than a week after a disastrous first day of school where some students got home as late as 10 p.m. due to bus delays.