HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY, Fla. — Students in the Tampa Bay Area are almost two months into the school year, and local school districts are still managing critical bus driver shortages.
Connie Laster’s grandson loves riding the bus.
"Any time he misses it, he's like I didn't ride the bus,” said Laster.
We caught up with Laster back in August.
She said buses were late at the beginning of the school year, but now, she’s seen some improvement.
"He's been getting to school on time. He's being picked up. Every now and then, we might have a hiccup there when a bus is being late, but we're getting communication from the schools,” said Laster.
Still, school districts are dealing with bus driver shortages, a problem not unique to the Tampa Bay Area.
Hillsborough County Schools said they need over 200 drivers and 40 mechanics, while Pasco County Schools said they currently have 31 open driver positions. Pinellas County Schools said they have six driver openings in the morning and 13 afternoons.
"The job market has changed. It's become very competitive for driving positions. You can drive for Amazon, Uber, all these different driving positions that have come to light over the past few years that weren't always here,” said Laura Hill, General Manager for Hillsborough County School’s Transportation Services.
Hillsborough County Schools is hosting a series of job fairs, including one on Thursday, to help get more drivers on the road, offering benefits like flexible schedules.
Hill admits that bus routes run slow during the first few days of school, but she says things are ironed out as much as possible.
"As things improve and we get more drivers out of class, we take some of those routes apart, and then the routes become a little timelier,” said Hill.
Mary Hall is one of those bus drivers. She’s been behind the wheel for 30 years. For future drivers, she has a few words of wisdom.
"If you like kids, it's a fit for you because you have to have a lot of patience, you have to work with kids, but it's rewarding,” said Hall.
