There is a bus driver shortage at Five Towns-based Independent Coach Corp.

With the return of school will come the return of school buses, and finding and hiring enough drivers will be a challenge for many bus companies. The Five Towns-based Independent Coach Corp. is among the companies looking for employees.

The shortage of bus drivers was an ongoing problem even before the coronavirus pandemic. Independent Coach and the Guardian Bus Company, based in Oceanside, have continually run advertisements looking for drivers, and offered incentives.

“We use approximately seven bus companies to complete all of our runs,” Jeremy Feder, assistant superintendent for business and operations for the Lawrence school district, explained. “We add multiple schools on runs, just because we need to make sure we have enough drivers to drive the buses that we have.”

Feder said that the driver shortage has worsened since the pandemic. Independent Coach, which serves the Lawrence and Hewlett-Woodmere school districts and also transports students to private schools, recently took to Facebook to share the incentives the company is offering new employees, in addition to touting the emotional appeal of the job.

“Many drivers have referred to their passengers as ‘my kids,’ which indicates that the position can be personally rewarding as well,” the Facebook post reads.

The company has called on community members to apply, noting that a familiarity with the area would be helpful for the job.

Corey Muirhead, executive vice president at Guardian, agreed. “Obviously, we want someone that, geographically, knows Long Island well,” he said. 

Brian Probst, Independent Coach’s safety director, said that the problem isn’t just a shortage of drivers, but rather a range of variables that come into play, complicating the challenge of route coverage.

“You don’t always have a shortage of bodies — you have a shortage of the correct licenses, you have a shortage of people that are looking to work part-time school-bus hours,” Probst said. “It’s an available-worker shortage.”

In hopes of combating the problem, Independent Coach has raised its pay rates. A standard school bus driver now makes $27 an hour, up from $25, and there are signing, attendance and accident-free bonuses as well, Probst said.

“One of the things that we do that sets us apart is that there’s no gimmicks to that,” he said of the increased pay.

Independent Coach offers new drivers a $1,000 signing bonus and a $500 referral bonus, if they recruit other properly licensed drivers who remain with the company for six months.

Since it raised its hourly pay, the company has seen an uptick in interested applicants.

“It’s been happening on a grass-roots, word-of-mouth level, which has actually been more productive than the recruiting sites,” Probst said. “People are talking to other people, and they’re excited about the pay bump.”

Asked what Independent Coach looks for in a potential driver, Probst said someone who is teachable.

The company trains new employees who have previously taken a written test to obtain a commercial driver’s license. Probst said that those who need help getting the permit should contact Independent Coach.

“I actually have an email set up, so when someone comes in and they’re like, ‘I have no CDL, what do I do?’ I’ve prepared an email, it has links to the (Department of Motor Vehicles) website and the manual, how to make the written test appointment,” he said. “It walks them through the process of when they’re at the DMV, because the DMV could be a little overwhelming.”

Independent Coach is glad to help, regardless of whether it results in employment, Probst said, because the majority of its passengers are children.

“Even if you decide not to work here, which I want you to,” he said, “I’m glad to know that I’ve sent you off with the understanding of how you’re supposed to do these things, so kids are safe.”