The days of walking to school barefoot might be returning to Wisconsin. There’s a bus driver shortage and it’s nearly at a critical level which spells big trouble.
Here’s Five Fast Facts About The Bus Driver Shortage:
- 🚌The Wheels on the Bus - Drivers have left over the past two years and aren’t coming back. It’s largely due to the pandemic. Many drivers also quit rather than risk COVID exposure once students returned to school (and many parents weren’t on their best behavior).
- 🚍Go Round and Round - Bus companies are being forced to make major cuts. In Medford, for example, three of four of their routes have been eliminated completely. Others have stopped transporting students to after school events.
- 🚏Round and Round - Various bussing companies are offering increased wages, signing bonuses and other incentives, but it’s just not working.
- 🛞Round and Round - In an effort to help, a waiver from the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration allows Wisconsin to modify CDL test qualifications for drivers. Some companies are helping drivers prepare for the tests and even paying a candidate’s license fees.
- 🛑All Through The Town - This spring, the DMV hit up 1,000 previous drivers asking them to return to service using a variety of incentives but didn’t get many takers.
🔥Bottom line: If you’re a parent, this is very bad and it’s probably going to get worse. If you have kids involved in afterschool activities, you will be (or already are) their primary source of transportation to and from those events. It also should serve as a major reminder that our actions during the pandemic have had very real effects on everyone in the public school system.
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