Schools Scramble Amid Bus Driver Shortage

New Haven’s public schools are struggling to get drivers to fill all 301 daily bus runs.

As the second month of the school year begins, the national bus driver shortage continues to cause some of the 18,000 New Haven Public Schools (NHPS) students some trouble while they are picked up and arriving to school late.

NHPS Director of Transportation Carl Jackson provided an update on the challenges to the Board of Education’s Finance and Operations Committee during its regular meeting Monday afternoon.

Jackson said his team is making ​“steady” strides in resolving the issue but expects that late arrivals will continue through the month. Currently NHPS is needing ​“combine as many as 10 routes” for drivers to pick up or drop off students because of driver shortages.

“Of the approximately 18,000 students transported daily, fewer than 5 percent are affected by the current driver shortage,” states a memo Jackson wrote to the committee. (Read that here.)

A total of 301 drivers are needed for NHPS regular runs by contractor First Student. Currently the district has 274 drivers to cover all of its runs. This has resulted in drivers doubling up runs and then longer wait times for families.

Jackson added that on any given day 10 to 20 drivers will call out sick. Twenty-six drivers called out on Monday, for instance.

Due to the national competition for certified drivers, Jackson predicted the shortage will last throughout this month.

“A lot of places are paying premiums for these experienced drivers,” he said.

First Student has been offering a $5,000 bonus for hired experiences drivers with credentials and a possible $3,000 bonus for those needing training. According to Jackson First Student last reported that it has ​“a lot of applications in the pipeline.”

To avoid doubling up routes and to meet First Student’s goal of having a spare-driver ratio of 10 percent for potential emergencies, the district needs a total of about 350 drivers.

As the school year continues, Jackson’s team and First Student have been working on sending lateness memos to schools informing them during morning runs which buses will arrive late.

“We’re not operating at optimum level, certainly below the standard that I would like but we’re operating, [but] we’re getting kids home,” Jackson said.

The partners are currently working on improving their communication plan with parents who are often waiting at the morning stops with students and can’t receive Powerschool Parent Link notifications.

Meanwhile, there’s the spread of Covid to worry about. Jackson reported that about 65 percent of their bus drivers are fully vaccinated; 124 drivers have opted for weekly testing.

“I imagine that with the pandemic and looking at the immediate future, this is going to take a little while to work out,” said committee member Larry Conaway.