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Districts nationwide continue to face school bus driver shortages
Compared to 2019, there are now 21,000 fewer school bus drivers in America. Here’s how that affects your family.
Maybe the bus didn’t come this morning. You got a last-minute text, scrambled to find another way to get your child to school, and they arrived 10 minutes late. If this sounds familiar, you’re not imagining things.
The shortage of school bus drivers in America has been getting worse for years, and it’s still not fixed, BusesForSale.com reports.
The numbers behind the shortage
There are still about 9.5% fewer school bus drivers than in 2019, which means around 21,200 fewer drivers on the road than before the pandemic, according to a 2025 analysis by the Economic Policy Institute. This isn’t a leftover problem from COVID-19. It’s a bigger, and continual, issue for school districts.
A 2025 survey conducted by HopSkipDrive found that 81% of school administrators still face a driver shortage, and 26% have had to cut or shorten bus routes. A survey conducted by several industry groups in 2021 found that 51% of school bus operators described their shortage as “severe” or “desperate.” States like Maine, Missouri, and Vermont have been hit especially hard, with districts cutting routes and services last year.
About half of all K-12 students in the U.S. rely on a school bus to get to school. When the system is strained, families feel the impact.
Why is it so hard to find drivers?
It’s always been tough to hire school bus drivers. The main reason is the schedule. Most drivers work split shifts, with early mornings, a long break, and afternoon pickups. This makes it hard to get a second job, which matters since the median hourly wage is $22.45 as of August 2025, according to EPI. Even with a 4.2% raise last year, many drivers still have trouble making ends meet.
Getting a license is an additional obstacle. The CDL process takes about 12 weeks, and industry leaders say many people drop out because it’s long and complicated. Other commercial driving jobs in delivery, logistics, and freight pay more, have better hours, and don’t involve the management of student behavior. The competition for licensed drivers is already tough and only getting tougher.
Retirements are making the shortage worse: 37% of districts surveyed in a 2022 HopSkipDrive study cited retirements as a major reason for their low driver numbers. There just aren’t enough new drivers to take their place.
What are districts doing, and what does it mean for your mornings?
Districts are trying different solutions. Many have raised wages, offered signing bonuses, and paid for CDL training to bring in new drivers. In Massachusetts, districts are promoting fully paid training programs.
But not all districts can afford these solutions. Where budgets are tight, it’s harder to make things work.
Schools Closing reports that some districts are testing “rotating route holidays.” This means certain neighborhood routes are halted on a set day each week to give drivers a break and help reduce burnout. For parents, it means one day a week without a bus, with only the yearly schedule as notice.
EverDriven notes that other districts are combining routes, which leads to longer rides and more stops per trip. These changes stretch the system in ways parents notice most. Kids are being picked up earlier, sometimes before sunrise, even in neighborhoods that never had to deal with this before.
For parents, the bigger problem is the lack of predictability. What used to be reliable now changes every week, which makes it harder to manage work, childcare, and everything else.
In places where school buses can’t keep up, districts are trying short-term fixes. Some give transit passes to older students, test ride-share programs, or offer payment-in-lieu, where the district sends a check and families make their own arrangements.
But these solutions only work if you have a car, flexible work hours, or help nearby. If you don’t, daily life can become overwhelming. And not everyone is affected the same way.
Who feels the impact most?
When school transportation breaks down, not everyone is affected equally. EPI’s analysis shows students with disabilities are hit hardest because they rely on special routes that don’t have easy backups. While some parents can switch to city buses or adjust quickly, these students can’t. When their routes fail, the problems add up. Missed school days, missed meals, and gaps that get harder to fix over time. This is happening in places like Santa Fe, New Mexico.
In 2023, it was reported that in Santa Fe, 27 drivers were covering 35 routes after six routes were cut. In Kanawha County, West Virginia, drivers are doubling up on routes. Some students aren’t getting to school until well into the first period.
What’s getting better
Even though the situation is challenging, districts are working to fix it. There may be small improvements, but the number of drivers is slowly rising. EPI’s 2025 analysis found that about 2,300 jobs had been added in the past year, a 1.1% increase.
In districts that take the job seriously, improvements last. Communication is clearer, there are fewer eleventh-hour changes, and behavior policies are more consistent. Drivers aren’t left to handle discipline alone.
Technology is helping a bit. Routing software is making stops more efficient, reducing wasted miles, and helping the same staff cover more ground. Denis Gallagher Jr., SVP of operations at STA, wrote on LinkedIn. “Smarter recruiting, stronger retention efforts, and creative scheduling have also made a difference. The districts making progress have something in common. They treat drivers as valuable people, not only numbers in a budget. That’s what makes the difference.
Looking at the bigger picture
School buses are still the safest way for kids to get to school. They’re nearly are nearly eight times safer riding in a school bus than in cars. No one wants to replace them. The real challenge is finding enough drivers.
The shortage is still around 21,000 drivers. Software and better routing alone won’t fix it. Real change depends on decisions by school boards and state leaders about driver pay and support.
Until then, mornings will remain chaotic. Somewhere, a parent is still rushing to find a way before the first bell.
This story was produced by BusesForSale.com and reviewed and distributed by Stacker.
