School districts across the United States are entering the 2026-2027 academic year still grappling with a persistent shortage of bus drivers, a workforce gap that has stubbornly refused to close even as districts have pushed wages higher to compete with trucking, delivery, and warehouse employers.
Employment of school bus drivers remained 9.5% below 2019 levels in August 2025, according to an Economic Policy Institute analysis of federal survey data. That shortfall persists despite inflation-adjusted hourly wages for the role rising 4.2% over the previous year — a sign that money alone is not solving the recruitment problem.
Pay is rising, but the job’s structure remains a hurdle
Hilary Wething, the economist behind the EPI analysis, told FOX Business that wages are the primary factor keeping workers from returning to the profession. But she pointed to another structural issue that pay raises cannot easily fix: the split shift.
School bus drivers typically work an early-morning route, then face a gap of several hours before an afternoon route. That schedule makes the job less attractive than trucking, transit, or delivery positions that offer either higher pay or more predictable, continuous hours. For drivers looking for a primary source of income, the downtime between routes can be a dealbreaker.
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Wething also cautioned against assuming that people counted as outside the labor force — retirees, students, caregivers, and people with disabilities — are available to step into these roles. The pool of qualified, willing candidates is smaller than raw unemployment figures suggest.
One district’s hands-on fix: administrators behind the wheel
The East Greenbush Central School District in New York experienced the crunch directly during the 2025-2026 school year. When Superintendent Kurtis Kotes took over in July 2025, the district was short nearly 14 bus runs. Mechanics, dispatchers, and other employees with the necessary licenses had to be pulled from their regular duties to cover routes.
“We had to consolidate runs,” Kotes told FOX Business. “It meant students were late being picked up from home. Sometimes it meant they were late getting back home again, and it would impact instructional time.”
Rather than waiting for applicants to come to them, the district hosted a “bus rodeo” recruitment event. Prospective drivers were invited to try operating a school bus with trainers on board, even if they did not yet hold a commercial driver’s license. The event yielded roughly five to eight hires, Kotes said.
East Greenbush now pays drivers approximately $28 an hour and offers health benefits — a critical tool when competing against an Amazon warehouse and other public-sector employers in the region. The district also offers drivers opportunities to fill midday hours with field trips, custodial work, and other assignments, though some still take second part-time jobs to make ends meet.
Leading from the driver’s seat
In a move that underscores how acute the problem became, Kotes and the district’s interim human resources director decided to earn their own commercial driver’s licenses. Kotes spent five weeks training for a Class B CDL with school bus and passenger endorsements, covering defensive driving, student management, safety procedures, and vehicle inspections before passing his road test. He drove his first student route in December 2025.
Kotes does not drive a daily route but is available to cover sports and after-school runs when needed. The district is now in a better staffing position, though competition for workers remains intense.
The broader financial picture is adding pressure. Wething noted that federal pandemic-relief funding, which helped districts hire support staff including bus drivers, has expired. Districts must now maintain transportation services with tighter budgets, limiting how far wage increases can go.
For families, the consequences of a driver shortage are tangible: late pickups, longer rides, and consolidated routes that stretch commute times. For districts, the fix requires more than a higher hourly rate. Benefits, predictable schedules, training support, and workplace culture all factor into whether drivers stay.
“When people feel like they’re valued, they’re going to want to work here,” Kotes said.
This article discusses labor market conditions and workforce challenges. It does not constitute financial advice. Labor markets are volatile and subject to regional variation.
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