New York announces plans to address school bus driver shortage. What would change

ALBANY – New York will bolster recruiting efforts to get more school bus drivers and look to streamline the ability of prospective drivers to get their commercial driver’s licenses, Gov. Kathy Hochul announced Sunday.

The moves come as New York and the nation deal with a shortage of school bus drivers amid the COVID-19 pandemic and calls for government to step in and address the problem.

Bus companies in New York estimate they are 15% to 20% below full staffing levels, which has meant districts have had to limit routes and lengthen the time some students are on buses.

“While the shortage of school bus drivers is not unique to New York State, 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,” Hochul said in a statement.

Hochul said state agencies will “utilize a multi-organizational recruitment effort” to persuade CDL drivers to become school bus drivers and then share candidates’ information with local districts.

The effort includes using the state Department of Labor to reach out to unemployed drivers to try to coax them back into the workforce, including working with law enforcement, firefighters and the military to see if trained drivers want to work for the school districts.

More information on how to be school bus driver is here. 

The state Department of Motor Vehicles plans to expedite the process for CDL completion by removing the 14-day waiting period between the permit test and the road tests.

And the state is working to open up new CDL driver testing sites by partnering with a variety of state agencies to use unused large lots for the road test, the governor said.

But Hochul stopped short of bringing in the National Guard or loosening requirement for bus drivers, saying the state will be “looking at alternative licensing entities and expanded partnerships with other state agencies to help train and recruit drivers.” 

Federal law requires school bus drivers to obtain a commercial driver’s license as well as additional training, a process that can take at least two months.

Hochul urged schools to use federal stimulus money to expand signing and retention bonuses and offer additional benefits to drivers.

“Many school districts receive a significant percentage of these funds in reimbursement from the state and are in a position to offer more competitive pay without absorbing the full cost at the local level,” Hochul’s office said in a news release.

The New York State United Teachers, the state’s largest teachers’ union, praised the steps.

“Any steps the state can take to expedite the process for obtaining a commercial driver’s license are welcome — as are steps on the local level to provide hardworking, deserving drivers with the fair pay and benefits that reflect the critical importance of their work safely transporting students,” NYSUT resident Andy Pallotta said in a statement.

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Joseph Spector is the Government and Politics Editor for the USA TODAY Network’s Atlantic Group, overseeing coverage in New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Maryland and Delaware. He can be reached at JSPECTOR@Gannett.com or followed on Twitter: @GannettAlbany

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