The 2024–25 school year and classes in the United States have been in session for nearly four months, but many school districts across the country are continuing to struggle in their search for drivers to get students there. To address the shortage, schools are implementing emergency measures, such as hiring ride-share companies and enlisting school staff to fill in the gaps.
According to a recent report from the Economic Policy Institute (EPI), the number of bus drivers has dropped by 12.2 percent since September 2019.
The primary factor driving the shortage is low pay. The EPI said that the median school bus driver earned 43 percent less than the median weekly wage for all workers and has declined by 2.8 percent since 2019….