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Fair Five Towns schools could be impacted by bus driver shortage
The shortage of school bus drivers in New York state that began nearly four years ago and that now stretches across the country has continued throughout, and been deepened by, the coronavirus pandemic. Five Towns school districts are concerned, and bus companies are aggressively recruiting drivers.
A shortage of bus drivers could have considerable impact, including lengthening students’ bus trips as school districts consolidate bus runs, delayed arrivals and departures, cancellation of field trips and extracurricular activities, increased costs as a shortage drives up wages, and the possibility that families will have to provide transportation to and from school, according to a 2019 New York State School Boards Association report, which noted that bus drivers transport more than 2.3 million children statewide each school day.
Jeremy Feder, the Lawrence School District’s assistant superintendent for business and operations, who oversees district transportation, also noted that with bus drivers typically being older people who are more vulnerable to Covid-19, they might not be willing to return to their jobs quickly, even with new safety precautions.
“There are concerns on a countrywide and local level — everywhere there are plenty of challenges,” Feder said. “It is certainly a concern: if we’ll have a sufficient amount of bus drivers to service all of our runs.”
Dealing with the shortage is an ongoing battle for the Independent Coach Corporation. The company, which has offices in Hewlett and Inwood, serves the East Rockaway, Hewlett-Woodmere, Lawrence, Lynbrook and Valley Stream school districts. In an effort to combat the problem, Independent Coach had a table at the Inwood Day event on Aug. 15, part of a recruitment drive.
“We’re bringing in people and actively advertising on social media,” said Independent Coach’s risks manager, Michael Sperber. “We have a sign-on bonus and other perks. We are actively and aggressively looking for drivers.”
Sperber said that while higher pay, bonuses and other incentives help attract employees, there are certified drivers available, because a few bus companies have gone out of business in the past two years, and it’s up to companies decide how many drivers they need to meet their contractual requirements.
Enhanced unemployment benefits have been another obstacles to hiring drivers, he added, along with odd working hours — two or so hours in the morning and again in the afternoon.
“We want to continue to deliver a quality product …,” Sperber said. “We have a quality standard, [and] comply with New York State Education [Department] rules and regulations. We don’t take shortcuts.”
“School districts have faced a shortage in bus drivers for several years now,” Marie Donnelly, assistant superintendent for business in the Hewlett-Woodmere district, wrote in an email. “The bus driver shortage has worsened due to the Covid-19 pandemic. The Department of Motor Vehicle requirements to become a bus driver have become more stringent. [But] we do not anticipate that the district’s routes will be negatively affected by the bus driver shortage.”
The New York School Bus Contractors Association, established in 1950, comprises nearly 100 school transportation companies statewide that carry more than half of the 2.3 million children who ride school buses.
It works with its members to find drivers by supporting recruitment efforts, and works as a resource for the State Education Department’s Pupil Transportation Services, the state’s Department of Transportation and the state’s Department of Motor vehicles, said Tammy Mortimer, a spokeswoman for the bus contractors.
“It can take up to 12 weeks for a new candidate to be able to drive a bus,” Mortimer said, noting another factor that is contributing to the driver shortage. “In addition, the association is working with our member districts to inform their customers and parents of the driver shortage, and putting a plan in place for the fall to work with the drivers they currently have with flexible pickup and drop-off times and adjusted sporting schedules.”
Have an opinion on the school bus driver shortage? Send a letter to jbessen@liherald.com.
