Policy Options to Respond to the School Bus Driver Shortage

Policy Options to Respond to the School Bus Driver Shortage

By: Jennifer Proto, Principal Analyst March 2, 2022 | 2022-R-0062

Issue

Provide policies or initiatives that other states are using to respond to the nationwide shortage of school bus drivers.

Summary

Although exacerbated by the pandemic, the shortage of school bus drivers across the U.S. existed well before the emergence of COVID-19. In 2016 and 2017, the National Association for Pupil Transportation (NAPT) conducted nationwide surveys of school transportation leaders. According to NAPT, 51% of respondents to each survey ranked a shortage of school bus drivers as their number one problem. Earlier this school year, NAPT conducted another survey and the percentage of respondents indicating the shortage as their top problem had increased to 65%, with 51% of respondents describing it as "severe" or "desperate." Key factors contributing to a school districts success in recruiting and retaining drivers were identified as (1) the availability of employerprovided health care and retirement plans; (2) wages, and the hourly wage in particular; (3) the necessity for and difficulty of obtaining a Commercial Driver's License (CDL); and (4) the number of hours available to work.

School districts with driver shortages often must expect more from their existing workforce, such as driving double routes. The resulting increase in staff burnout can lead to increased driver absenteeism, labor strikes, or drivers leaving the industry altogether, which then leaves districts with even fewer drivers. Sustainable long-term solutions will likely require a multi-faceted approach as the average bus driver age continues trending upward and the on-demand economy continues to pull drivers away into higher-paying jobs.

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Although not an exhaustive list, this report covers steps states and industry providers and associations have been taking to combat the driver shortage through increased compensation and benefits, streamlining hiring and CDL processes, optimizing route efficiencies with technology, and recruitment and retention strategies. It also provides proposed legislation in five states on this issue, as identified by National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL).

Increased Compensation & Benefits

School bus drivers' salaries have typically been well below those of other occupations requiring CDL licensure. But increasing their pay and benefits directly impacts already tight school budgets as well as contractual negotiations with labor unions or third-party transportation providers. Most school districts do not have the resources to compete with the pay scales and benefit packages being offered by the commercial trucking industry (e.g., companies like WalMart are offering starting salaries in the $75,000 to $85,000 range for CDL holders).

"[O]ne of the biggest issues is pay. Always has been, but today there are so many other options available for more money (or at least the same money) but less headache... Meanwhile, our reader survey for April indicates the national average starting wage is $19/hour... Another big thing is offering drivers enough hours. $19 sounds good to some, but if they are only guaranteed 4 hours but need 8 to 10 they will go elsewhere." - Michael J. Martin, NAPT Executive Director & CEO

As previously mentioned, NAPT conducted a 2021 survey to determine the extent of current bus driver shortages, whether the trend is improving or worsening, and which solutions are being used to remedy the problem. Some of the most significant findings (based on approximately 1,500 responses), include the following:

? the top four major factors for recruiting and retaining school bus drivers are perceived to be (1) rate of pay (50%), (2) obtaining a CDL (43%), (3) benefits/lack of benefits (38%), and (4) the number of hours available to work (38%), and

? in terms of financial incentives, 70% of respondents have a retirement plan, 66% have medical insurance, 56% have dental insurance, 54% have vision insurance, 31% have an attendance bonus, 25% have a referral bonus, 17% have a safety bonus and 13% selected "other."

Sample Proposed Legislation

In Rhode Island, legislators are currently considering HB 7293 (2022), which establishes a revolving school bus driver incentive fund for use by school districts to hire and retain bus drivers and monitors with an initial grant of $5 million from COVID-19 response funds. While federal Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief Fund (ESSER) grants can be used to offset school bus driver salary increases, new buses, cleaning supplies, and air purification systems, some transportation directors question reliance on a temporary source of funding.

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Streamlining Hiring & CDL Processes

State Level

A quarter (25%) of NAPT survey respondents said obtaining a CDL road test appointment is a "major factor" in their ability to recruit and retain school bus drivers. According to the Executive Director of the National School Transportation Association (NSTA), one option motor vehicle departments in some states (e.g., New Jersey and New York) are taking is giving higher priority for scheduling road tests to school bus driver candidates. The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA), in coordination with the U.S. Department of Education, issued a temporary waiver from January 3 to March 31, 2022, for the portion of the CDL skills test that requires school bus driver applicants to identify the "under the hood" engine components (all other components of the written and road test must still be met). However, according to NSTA, most State Driver's License Agencies (SDLAs), such as Connecticut, have not adopted the waiver option. A growing number of states including New Jersey, Minnesota, Oklahoma, Texas, and Wisconsin have done so.

"Honestly the challenge we see is that SDLAs are not coming to the table to either provide tangible support, or they are not communicating effectively with private and public school bus operators when developing programs that could potentially help." - Curt Macysyn, NSTA Executive Director

Federal Level

On February 7, 2022, the FMCSA implemented a new Entry Level Driver Training regulation designed to increase highway safety by improving the caliber of new CDL drivers through expanded training and licensure requirements using a nationwide standard curriculum. NAPT had argued to delay implementation due to the potential for additional delays in the on-boarding process for school bus drivers, however FMCSA estimates that 85% of entry-level drivers already receive curricula that meet the new training requirements.

NAPT has recommended these additional steps the federal government can take to ease some of the administrative burdens:

? Create flexible approaches to licensure that are attuned to the nature and demands of school bus driving, including (1) extending the time a Commercial Learners Permit (CLP) remains valid, (2) shortening the time between attaining a CLP and road testing, and (3) allowing CLP holders to drive certain school-district approved vehicles that would normally require a CDL;

? Allow third parties to administer both knowledge and skills portions for CDL (current regulations allow third-party examiners to only conduct the skills portion; per NAPT, FMCSA have agreed to pilot this concept, which will extend through the end of the current school year); and

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? Increase for one year, from $18,960 to $23,500, the amount of earnings Social Security beneficiaries may earn without impacting their benefits to entice recent retirees to become drivers.

Optimizing Route Efficiencies With Technology

A growing number of school districts are turning to technology companies to optimize their routes as an effective strategy to confront the shortage, thus allowing them to transport more students with fewer drivers. For instance, in 2017, Massachusetts-based software company, AlphaRoute, used Massachusetts Institute of Technology-based algorithms to optimize districtwide bus fleets and reduced Columbus City's bus count from 704 to 558. The company won Boston Public Schools Transportation Challenge by reducing the number of buses by 50 at a savings of $5 million. AlphaRoute proposed another route plan that would have saved Boston $12 million by also adjusting school start times (e.g., 94% of high schoolers would start school after 8 a.m.). However, this plan has yet to be implemented after it received strong opposition from some parents.

In the fall of 2019, the privately-operated busing company First Student, which operates the fourth largest fleet in North America, with 42,000 buses in 1,100 U.S. school districts, announced that it would begin data-gathering efforts in its fleet to help optimize its routes and transportation efforts. The New York City school system, the largest in the nation, also announced that it would be teaming up with the ridesharing app Via to help improve its routing and busing goals.

Recruitment Strategies

More than one-third (36%) of all respondents to the NAPT survey indicated they have expanded their advertising into new areas and target populations, and the larger the organization, the more likely they are to have done so. For example, in Wisconsin, the DMV sent a letter to nearly 1,000 former drivers who had lapsed school bus licenses. The letter encourages interested drivers to renew their endorsement and check out employment opportunities in their community.

According to the NAPT survey, online advertising is the primary method to advertise for bus drivers, with use of billboards increasing in the past few years while newspaper ad use has been diminishing.

In the fall of 2021, Rochester Genesee Regional Transportation Authority, which provides public transportation for the city in upstate New York, helped transport 3,500 students amid the ongoing school bus driver shortage. Meanwhile, Massachusetts Governor Baker activated as many as 250 National Guard members to address the shortage in certain districts. Guard members took over driving duties on "school pupil transport vehicles" (generally vans).

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Sample Proposed Legislation

In Virginia, HB 452 (2022) would allow any local school board to display decals, posters, and stickers on the sides and rear of school buses advertising the hiring of school bus drivers, provided that the board pays for them.

In Rhode Island, HB 7215 (2022) would enable some Massachusetts- and Connecticut-based student transportation providers without Rhode Island licensed and registered vehicles to operate in the state, under limited conditions.

In Tennessee, HB 2053 (2022) expands the list of retired members of the Tennessee Consolidated Retirement System (for state employees and teachers) who may work more than 120 days while continuing to receive a pension to include teachers and school bus drivers if a director of schools certifies that no other certified person is qualified and available for the position.

In West Virginia, HB 2143 declares a shortage of qualified bus operators and allows retired bus operators to accept employment.

Retention Strategies

Minimizing turnover can be more efficient to retaining a quality workforce than continually recruiting and training new drivers. Yet according to NAPT's most recent survey, 60% indicated that the trend in driver retention in their company is getting "much more difficult" or "a little more difficult" (4% of respondents indicated that retention is getting easier).

"Another significant factor that drivers mention frequently relates to their status as school employees and the level of respect with which they are treated. Many drivers speak of being ignored by school officials, most particularly building staff who often dismiss their referrals of students for misbehavior or bullying incidents. Moreover, they are concerned that they are not provided adequate information about students with special transportation needs, leaving them potentially unaware of issues and conditions that could affect safety while in transit. School officials, including business officials, will need to come to terms with this perception and the implications it has on job performance, satisfaction, and retention." ? Michael J. Martin

For at least some employees, addressing job satisfaction and work environment issues can help to offset issues of lower wages. Driving a school bus can be challenging for many reasons including the direct interaction with students, student misbehaviors, parent concerns, and increasingly difficult traffic patterns. School administrators will need to find creative ways to entice and retain qualified individuals to drive school buses in this economic market.

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