School Bus Driver Shortage 

Right now all around the world schools are struggling to find bus drivers to run routes. Penns Valley is one of these schools. This has caused a lot of problems for kids, parents, school staff, bus owners, and bus drivers. There are many reasons why this is happening. 

One reason could be fully open school buildings, the prospect of returning to a bus full of unvaccinated kids might seem untenable to people at high risk of severe disease from COVID-19. Which could mean that we are losing people that are willing to be bus drivers because they are at high risk. 

Another reason could be that last year schools were not always full-time in person, so last year bus garages and transportation services got behind on their normal recruiting schedule for bus drivers. Now that they’re trying to catch up, they’re finding that prospective drivers aren’t able to get the necessary licenses and certifications quickly enough to be ready. 

A third reason could be that In some cases, requirements for masks and vaccinations in some places, and restrictions on those requirements in others, might be keeping some people from returning to jobs they once had, or from signing up to fill gaps.

It could also be that bus drivers are very much underpaid for the amount of work they do and things they put up with, and covid did not help if anything it made it harder for transportation services to pay their bus drivers. 

No matter if the reason is because of covid or not school districts around the world are truly struggling to find bus drivers. So next time that you get on a bus or put your child on the bus, thank the bus drivers for all the hard work they are doing. They take time out of their day to drive crazy noisy kids to school every day and they deserve a lot of appreciation.