Bus driver shortages persist for Northern Virginia school systems

ARLINGTON, Va. — Some school districts in Northern Virginia are making headway in recruiting more school bus drivers, but a shortage still lingers. 

With the start of the new school year around the corner, administrators are maintaining their recruitment efforts to attract new hires, including Arlington Public Schools.

APS is in the process of hiring 20 out of 160 bus drivers still needed for the upcoming school year. One of its strategies is to recruit people with and without a Commercial Driver's License (CDL) or CDL learner’s permit to undergo a paid driver trainee class. Depending on if they have a CDL, drivers enrolled in the class will get an hourly rate of $16.63 or $23.79. Once they complete the class, an APS spokesperson said they are eligible for a starting salary of up to $28.95, one of the highest offers in Northern Virginia.

Parents including Cynthia Cuttier question if there are ways to relax requirements to fill more positions. Cuttier has grown accustomed to having to drive her daughter and other kids to school because of delays.

Cuttier joined a chat group with other parents in Arlington County to alert them about any delays.

“When buses are late, it’s completely a hassle for many parents,” Cuttier told WUSA9. “From one to 10, I’d say it’s an eight. It’s very frustrating. When something like this happens, all of my schedules are moved.”

Just like APS, Fairfax County Public Schools is holding job fairs to recruit drivers. It’s been highly competitive trying to fill in the positions.

For this school year, FCPS is offering a starting salary of $24.55 per hour with a $2,000 signing bonus. With more than 1,100 routes, the school system is experiencing a shortage of 100 bus drivers. FCPS is in a better position compared to the previous school year when the shortage was close to 140.

FCPS Assistant Director of Transportation Services Paul D’Andrade said aside from the monthly job fairs, there are advertisements on the radio, TV, internet, and bus shelters. Although the sign is outdated with old information, at least one FCPS sign recruiting drivers was found outside the Arlington County Trades Center where APS buses are held.

D’Andrade said to expand the search, requirements have been loosened.

“We recently reduced our starting age to 19 years of age for school bus drivers and we're definitely reaching out to some of the colleges and some of our past and former students to start,” he said.

Some FCPS families should expect to experience “double back” routes again this year, meaning bus drivers will pick up students twice on the same route. However, school officials stressed the number of “double backs” is only less than 1% of routes.

“We’re definitely proud of the work our recruitment teams and trainers have done over the last school year to reduce our double backs to less than 10 of 1,122 routes,” D’Andrade added.

In Loudoun County, the school system is still 51 drivers short. LCPS has 750 buses on its fleet, covering 514 routes. Starting salary being offered is $24.43 with a $2,500 signing bonus.

Prince William County Public Schools did not mention the specific number of open positions, but a spokesperson said, “The school division has made a lot of progress and is in a better position than this time last year.”

The district offered paid CDL training and has increased the rate of pay to $23.46 for full-time drivers over the summer.