In many school districts, the face that parents and guardians see most frequently doesnt belong to the principal, the teacher, or even other studentsits the school bus driver, the man or woman charged with the awesome responsibility of getting dozens of children from their homes to their classroom in a safe and efficient manner. Cookie Policy | The states and districts with the highest mean bus driver salaries are New York ($64,330), Alaska ($60,400), Washington ($59,880), Massachusetts ($56,930), and California ($54,560). Please turn on JavaScript and try again. The criteria for this examination are based on all chapters of the 2014 American Red Cross, First Aid/CPR/AED Participants Manual (Item #656756). You might be interested: Question: How Much Is The Bus In Seattle? In the bus driving sector, you may make up to $44,000 per year if you work hard enough. wikiHow is a wiki, similar to Wikipedia, which means that many of our articles are co-written by multiple authors. During the summer, Mike says, you dont get paid., Its not always the kids that misbehave. Most drivers will operate other services as well as the school runs, and these are not likely to change. Each knowledge test consists of at least 30 questions covering 20 general areas outlined in the federal CDL regulations. Most bus drivers around d here are women or retired men who just need something to do. Most drivers that received gifts from parents are the drivers that broke the rules for those parents. School buses only run once or twice a day. The physical evaluates whether you are medically qualified to transport students safely. (Solved). Depending on the contractor, we are paid hourly, daily, or on a salaried weekly basis. The starting hourly wage for a bus driver in Picayune is $16. Rockingham County Public Schools will continue to pay bus drivers despite their being unable to work because of the coronavirus outbreak. Your email address will not be published. Kentucky Public Charter Schools Association. During field trips, we are supposed to have free admission to wherever the students are visiting, Cindy says. The test requires you to pay a fee before you sit for it. We drive for private companies that lease the service to the school boards. If you plan to drive school buses with air brakes, you also must pass an additional knowledge test on air brake operation. "During the summer," Mike says, "you don't get paid." What is the best part of being a school bus driver? At this time, webinar training will not only be safer than a classroom setting but also be less costly [than] travel costs and hotel for school divisions, as budgets may be strained due to the virus.. To receive a copy of the Comments are moderated and may not appear for 24 hours or more. Now that I've rewritten your question into something resembles English, I will start by simply saying "No, they don't." However, it depends on the company. Bright Horizons Family Solutions Inc. provides child care and early education, back-up care, and educational advisory services for employers and families. In the morning, we pick up school-aged passengers from predetermined locations and then deliver them to school. There are also several opportunities to pick up extra hours, as well as receive employee benefits from the school. Most companies dont want to hire workers just for three months. Use it to try out great new products and services nationwide without paying full pricewine, food delivery, clothing and more. This includes completing: School Bus Driver drives a bus intended for school activities. Sounds breezy, but Mike and most other drivers are paid by the number of hours worked. May require 0-1 year of general work experience. 1. Its not just some old guy driving a truck., 2023 Minute Media - All Rights Reserved. In fact, about half of school bus drivers in New York state have not been getting paid during the pandemic, according to Nichole Epstein, a spokesperson for the New York School Bus Contractors Association (NYSBCA). Thanks to all authors for creating a page that has been read 401,248 times. 4. Then scroll down and click on School Bus Driver First Aid Training Programs. With cheaper initial maintenance expenses and a longer service life out of each vehicle, the additional investment may prove to be well worth the cost. As a result, there are limited options for lowering the expenses of operating a bus route. The average pay in London is 41,500 per year, according to Payscale. 19 Take an inordinate amount of time to count their fare, causing everyone to be held up. Some states charge an additional fee for the CDL itself, while others combine these fees together. Must have at least 20/40 vision and a 70-degree field of vision in each eye. ** - Depending upon your specific route, you could work . School districts across the country are struggling to fill vital school bus driver positions. They need relief and they need it now. If drivers can find summer work, its hourly part-time positions with very low wages. By using our site, you agree to our. The third part of the skills test evaluates your safe driving skills. The applicant may complete the personal and driver license portions only. This article has been viewed 401,248 times. Bus drivers who work for Suffolk Public Schools are also being paid. You need to bring one or two forms of legal identification, such as a passport or birth certificate, depending on your states regulations. The lack of payment drastically jeopardizes the resumption of transportation services for many New York school districts, which is very alarming because pupil transportation is an essential government service that needs to be ready to respond at a moments notice to when school resumes again, whenever that may be, she added. When I got home, I called her home on my own time and asked her father if she was all right. Sounds breezy, but Mike and most other drivers are paid by the number of hours worked. This could be part of the "beginning of the end," as New York Gov. You'll have to pay a fee for this exam, which you must get before you apply for a commercial learner's permit (CLP). Driving a bus is not that much more complicated than driving a car. Certain conditions such as diabetes, high blood pressure or arthritis will render you ineligible to become a commercial driver. If you love kids, a career as a bus driver could be very rewarding. You may be trying to access this site from a secured browser on the server. In light of a persisting driver shortage, we are rerunning it and have updated it with some links to related articles offering insights and solutions. In the United States, the average School Bus Driver income is $34,963 per year, or $16.81 per hour, according to Payscale. Not all of the little hellraisers are out for blood. I do take it personally because Im a resident. But things are looking up. You find [most] children work best with having assigned seats. Some children will bring you things of their own volition such as a flower or candy bar, Cindy says. ", "It was a very detailed step-by-step set of instructions broken down by state requirements. Can not answer for county or district operated fleets. comments on Often asked: What Do School Bus Drivers Make? Get the latest market price for benchmark jobs and jobs in your industry. Palmer Bus Service has a wonderful opportunity for you to be a School Bus driver with paid training and continued support with a company that treats each employee with dignity and as an individual. Required fields are marked *. "This article has been a starting point for me to be a good school bus driver. In my district, drivers with the highest seniority got to drive the smaller, van-type buses, Mike says. The average School Bus Driver salary in Georgia is $35,751 as of January 26, 2023, but the range typically falls between $28,861 and $43,570. You must be at least 18 years old to get a CDL, but in some states you must be at least 21 years old to drive a school bus. He is also a published poet/writer and has won several awards from national and state poetry contests. Still, it would be a neat job someday Kailua-Kona, HI, ALLURE LIFESTYLE COMMUNITIES - Bus Drivers in the Los Angeles Unified School District make $51,000 per year, or $25 per hour, which is 58 percent more than the national average of $28,000 per year for all Bus Drivers and 26 percent less than the national average wage for all working Americans. Areas tested include procedures for inspection and repair, safe vehicle operations, safety control systems such as lights and horns, vehicle control such as shifting, backing, and skid control, and basic vehicle control and safe driving skills. Question: How To Insure A School Bus For Personal Use? Federal relief could mean that school bus contractors and their drivers will get paid. 2. We work a split shift, so there is a limited number of hours we can get. Additionally, School Bus Driver requires a valid driver's license. In addition to having fewer students on board, those drivers usually benefit from having a bus monitor riding along to ensure cooperation without having to take their eyes off the road. In other states, additional training is required after youve passed the state skills tests for your CDL with P and S endorsements. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. Theres a magnetic sign at the front of the bus, and at the end of the route you have to walk down the aisle and stick it up so it shows out of the back window, Mike says. Some common grievances here include: administrators not backing up school bus drivers when parents complain; policies that dont support drivers; disciplinary actions that are perceived as inequitable; not showing appreciation for oldest employees; and too many hoops for drivers to jump through to get administrators to. In order for you to receive the best possible offers, please make sure your answers above are accurate prior to submitting. Every new driver winds up paying all or a part of the cost of all these things. Extra earning opportunities are usually available as well. CDL Grad, No Experience To become a bus or coach driver, you will need to complete training for a Passenger Carrying Vehicle (PCV) licence and the Driver Certificate of Professional Competence (CPC Driver ). All Rights Reserved, School Transportation Veteran to Newspaper: Bus Driver Pay a Factor in Shortage, Helping School Bus Drivers Turn Downtime Into Uptime. In-Person Meeting, in conjunction with CASTO Managers ForumWhen: Friday, October 21, 2022Where: Delta by Marriott Garden Grove/AnaheimAddress:12021 Harbor Blvd, Garden Grove, CA 92840Phone:(714) 867-5555See CASTO website for more information on the 2022 Managers Forum:California Association of School Transportation Officials - Home (castoways.org), American Academy of Pediatrics Member/RepresentativeRural School District RepresentativeSchool Pupil Transportation Operations other than School Bus Representative. {"smallUrl":"https:\/\/www.wikihow.com\/images\/thumb\/1\/11\/Get-a-School-Bus-Driver%27s-License-Step-1-Version-2.jpg\/v4-460px-Get-a-School-Bus-Driver%27s-License-Step-1-Version-2.jpg","bigUrl":"\/images\/thumb\/1\/11\/Get-a-School-Bus-Driver%27s-License-Step-1-Version-2.jpg\/aid1146271-v4-728px-Get-a-School-Bus-Driver%27s-License-Step-1-Version-2.jpg","smallWidth":460,"smallHeight":345,"bigWidth":728,"bigHeight":546,"licensing":"