Is your child having school bus trouble? South Florida slowed down by a driver shortage

South Florida is experiencing a serious shortage in school bus drivers, resulting in long waits at bus stops, late arrivals to school and in the worst case, students stranded by a no-show school bus.

“The first three days of school no bus showed up at all,” said a mother of two boys in the Broward school system, one at Fort Lauderdale High and the other at New River Middle School.

South Florida’s problems are mirrored in much of the country, a combination of the COVID-19 pandemic, most kids returning to school after learning remotely for 18 months and the relatively low pay drivers earn for a high-pressure job.

“Too many kids for fewer drivers and routes on top of routes,” said Phyllis Talley-LeFlores, president of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees Local 1184, the union that represents Miami-Dade County Public Schools bus drivers.

More than 100 drivers short in Miami-Dade schools

The district started off the school year short more than 100 drivers out of what should have been 1,200 bus operators covering 860 routes, said Nat Bender, spokesman for AFSCME.

Talley-LeFlore said in a statement to the Miami Herald that it’s a statewide problem because, with an average pay of about $15 an hour, fewer people are willing to take such a challenging job that not only requires a commercial truck driver’s license, but carries the added responsibility of safely delivering people’s children to and from school every day.

Compounding challenges in the time of COVID is “trying to do routes safely while having to constantly remind the children to stay masked to be safe from the threat of coronavirus infection,” she said.

Broward County Public Schools has 1,151 school bus driver positions and a vacancy of 200 operators, according to the district’s Student Transportation and Fleet Services Department.

The department said in an emailed response to a list of questions sent by the Herald that the reason for the driver shortage is the pandemic, “which impacted employee turnover and retirement,” and also “less competitive salaries.”

Broward raises school bus driver pay

To address salaries, the Broward School Board ratified the drivers’ contract this summer to increase the starting hourly rate from $15.41 to $16.50. The district is also offering $500 starting bonuses for new drivers.

Starting pay for a Miami-Dade County school bus driver is still $15.26 an hour, said district spokeswoman Jaquelyn Calzadilla.

Linda Lewis, who represents Broward County Public Schools bus drivers who are members of the Federation of Public Employees union, said while she is grateful to the School Board for ratifying the drivers’ latest contract, which is effective July 1, she fears it’s not going to be enough to attract new drivers and convince enough veterans to stay on the job.

“In order to recruit or to get retention, it has to be appetizing enough,” Lewis said.

In addition, there are concerns whether bus drivers are more at risk for contracting COVID. While it’s difficult to determine whether a driver became infected on the bus — or at home or in a gathering of people — bus drivers were among the 13 unvaccinated Miami Dade Schools employees who have died from COVID since the school year began on Aug. 23, according to the district’s teachers union.

Being a bus driver is a tough job. You have to get up well before dawn and start picking children up by around 5:30 a.m. Even with the raise in pay and a guaranteed 35 hours a week, Lewis said she’s concerned it’s not nearly enough to make up for the shortfall.

“It’s now 2021. So, if you have a driver who’s been here 30 years and they’re still not making $20 an hour, there’s something wrong with that picture,” she said.

Bender said Miami-Dade drivers have received some recent gains from schools officials, including extra money for drivers who sanitize their buses twice a day and an eighth hour added to the day to finish their routes.

“In addition, drivers are receiving a $275 stipend to vaccinate themselves against the coronavirus,” he said.

Amber Acevedo, coordinator of professional growth for the Monroe County School District, said the Florida Keys is also experiencing a bus driver shortage, particularly in the Lower Keys. Acevedo said a full staff would be 53 drivers, but the district is down seven.

Bus route changes

To address the shortfall in Miami-Dade, Calzadilla said the district has implemented what it calls “double-back routing.” This means that when a driver delivers a group of students, he or she goes back out to pick up another group of students to deliver to the same school.

The district is also combining routes, according to the transportation department.

Another strategy is the recent establishment of a part-time trainee position to attract more drivers. Once applicants are approved by the district, trainees will have to attend a 50-hour course to attain a commercial driver’s license learner’s permit.

Once they complete the course, they will be considered full-time bus drivers and be required to finish an additional 40 hours of training.

Applicants who already have a commercial driver’s license will have to take only the 40-hour school bus training course, which is required by state law. This includes class work and eight hours of behind-the-wheel training.

In addition, all applicants must have had a valid driver’s license for a minimum of five years, said Calzadilla. Their driving record must be free of any major violations or infractions. They must pass a background check, a physical examination and drug and alcohol screening.

Showing up late, or not at all

On the ground, the bus driver shortage has meant parents, students and teachers have had to make major adjustments to their day.

The Broward mother, who wished to remain anonymous because her husband works for the school district, said her sons routinely arrive at school late and arrive home even later. Her sons say that their first-period teachers typically start class 20 minutes late to accommodate all the late students.

Her son at New River Middle School has never arrived home on time, she said. According to the bus schedule, he is supposed to arrive at 5:15 p.m., but he usually gets home between 6 and 7 p.m.

“I worry that the drivers are stretched so thin they are stressed,” she said. “Stressed driving is not desirable.”