![]() ![]() “A lot (of bus contractors) are dropping out because they don’t have the drivers,” Barbara Sargeant, School Transportation Supervisors of New Jersey president. The school bus driver shortage has caused major disruptions to the start of the school year. The shortage of people with commercial drivers licenses, required to drive any large vehicle from a delivery van to a bus to a tanker truck, has left school districts and school bus companies struggling to find properly licensed drivers.Ĭamden City schools have also announced a two-tiered school opening and dismissal time change, citing transportation needs as one of three reasons for the change, in a June letter from Superintendent Katrina T. Currently, 90 National Guard troops are being trained as school bus drivers in the state, with up to 250 troops involved in the overall mission. Some school districts in central Pennsylvania are feeling the impact of the nationwide bus driver shortage ahead of the new school year. ![]() Those contracts were bid again, but officials warned parents in a letter that they may have to make other contingency plans to get their kids to school in September.īurlington and Deptford are not alone. In Burlington, the district’s old contractor dropped out and no others companies bid to provide the services. “We are tackling the ongoing driver shortage from every possible angle, but this is not a problem unique to our organization, it is a problem facing all companies in the student transportation industry,” according to a story published by NJ.com.įor example, in southern New Jersey, no companies bid on school bus contracts this fall in Deptford or Burlington Townships, sending officials scrambling for alternatives, NJ.com reported on Aug. Rick Jr., Student Transportation of America New Jersey operations vice president and Rick Bus Co. “The driver shortage has been an ongoing issue for many providers even pre-pandemic, and the pandemic ultimately exacerbated the problem,” said Ronald J. Transportation officials say they are having a hard time finding enough school bus drivers to staff the regularly scheduled routes. Students are getting ready to go back to school, but who will drive them there? Panelists will discuss potential policy solutions and company tactics that can be implemented to help ease the driver shortage.New Jersey School Boards Association Login Search Menu Eastern Time, the NSTA will host a webinar titled “Proactively Addressing the Driver Shortage.” The NSTA FLASH webinar will be moderated by NSTA Executive Director Curt Macysyn, and feature Julius Ceaser a recuiter for Cook-Illinois Corp., and David Strong, president of the Student Transportation Association of Massachusetts. "Due to deadlines provided for in the American Rescue Plan, many school bus contractors around the country have found it difficult to garner new employees and with continued disincentives to return to work, it will become increasingly more difficult to get potential new bus drivers trained, certified, and licensed in time for a return to school," Macysyn explained in the news release. Curt Macysyn, NSTA's executive director, cited that as particularly problematic, since nearly every school will have begun its new school year by that date, and student transportation has to be 100% operational by the opening of the schools around the country, the news release reports. I believe part of the problem is the perception that school bus. 6, 2021 unemployment insurance extension provided in the American Rescue Plan. Nationally there is a shortage of truck drivers, and the same is true of school bus drivers. ![]() The actions are seen as necessary by the association in particular due to the Sept. Sasse, and the states of Alabama, Montana, and South Carolina, for taking proactive steps to provide tangible incentives for candidates to enter or re-enter the workforce," said Carina Noble, senior vice president of communications and external affairs for National Express and president-elect of the NSTA. These actions are seen by the NSTA as a positive development in the quest to have existing commercial driver’s license (CDL) drivers return to work, as well as attracting new employees pursuing career opportunities, according to the association’s news release. ![]() In addition, last week several states indicated that they will cease providing enhanced unemployment compensation, instead opting to incentivize citizens returning to the employment pool. ![]()
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