BEDFORD HEIGHTS, Ohio — Schools across the nation and Northeast Ohio are desperate to find bus drivers.
“The school bus driver shortage is an issue effecting communities all across the country, rural, urban, suburban," Campbell Millum with youth transportation company HopSKipDrive said. "The reality is, it's getting worse."
According to a 2022 State of School Transportation survey from HopSkipDrive, 88% of respondents said bus driver shortages have constrained their transportation operations.
"It's really important at this point that we look at the numbers and then we say 'we need to find innovative solutions to this problem' and really look to solve it," Millum told 3News. "Otherwise we'll be having this same conversation again next year."
The transportation department in the Bedford City School District is looking to fill 15 open positions.
"One of the things that we don't want to ever happen is for it to negatively impact our students," JaTina Threat, executive director of school and community relations for the district, said. "We work hard to make sure that our students are getting to school on time safely."
Threat says the shortage could potentially impact field trips and extracurricular activities.
The problems persist elsewhere, too. Akron Public Schools, the district needs 20 more bus drivers, although a district spokesperson says they are in a better position than they were at the start of last school year. At the Brecksville-Broadview Heights City School District, Bonnie-Jill Piskac was called back to work after retiring for two weeks.
"I was just going to sub and one of our drivers went out with a back injury, so I came back full time," Piskac said. "They complain about double dipping, but the advantage to re-hiring a retired bus driver is we've already been trained, we know the district, we know all the rules and regulations."
According to the HopSkipDrive survey, the top five reasons for the shortage include:
- Issues recruiting new bus drivers
- Driver pay
- Drivers retiring
- COVID-19 concerns
- Losing drivers to private industry
For those interested in becoming a school bus driver in Ohio, click here for a list of qualifications.