Across the country, more students are driving or walking to school than ever before as a result of a nationwide bus driver shortage.
There are various reasons for the shortage, one being that there is a general labor shortage across many industries which makes it difficult for bus companies to hire new drivers. In addition, many bus drivers do not want to return to work and risk getting COVID, particularly because students under twelve are not eligible for vaccination.
For some students, the bus shortage means they need to get a ride from a parent or friend. However, other students don't have this option. If their parents have already left for work or they don’t own a car, they may have difficulty getting to school. Some students will simply have to walk. This takes a lot of time before and after school, which could interfere with homework and after-school activities. This problem will increase when it gets cold, rainy and snowy.
The impact goes beyond students. Parents may have to adjust their schedules to accommodate their kids' transportation needs. If busing costs go up as a result of the shortage, the school district may be forced to spend more money than planned, possibly resulting in cuts in other areas like athletic and after school programs.
New York State's new Governor, Kathy Hochul, recently announced a plan to address this shortage. This plan includes small steps to recruit and hire more commercial drivers license holders. "I have directed state agencies to utilize creative approaches and use every tool at their disposal to help districts affected by the bus driver shortage, so we can bring in as many qualified bus drivers as possible as quickly as possible," said Governor Hochul.
Luckily, Nyack has not experienced a bus driver shortage. Still, we now realize how important hardworking people like bus drivers are in making the education system run smoothly. Before this happened, most of us took for granted that bus drivers would be there to take us to school and other programs. The bus driver shortage is just another example of how valuable everyone's individual jobs are to make our schools and communities function.