ANNE ARUNDEL CO., Md. — Baltimore area school districts are gearing up for the year ahead. They're hiring, and one particular area is still facing shortages: bus drivers.
As districts explain, there's still an issue, but it's not quite as bad as it was last year, or the year before.
"We've made some really good inroads into that," said Bob Mosier, a spokesman for Anne Arundel County Public Schools.
Mosier tells WMAR-2 News that Anne Arundel is facing 20 bus driver vacancies, compared to 72 this time last year.
If they're still short, it would affect anywhere from 30 to 40 routes.
"Our transportation department is still working through that - but we are certainly optimistic we will get those 20. We have far more than 20 drivers in training right now. The success rate there is about 50 percent," Mosier added.
If they don't fill those jobs, "There would be routes that don't run. We have a notification system that informs parents of that. We're hoping not to be in that situation again this year, but certainly could be," Mosier explained.
Contracted drivers in Anne Arundel received ten percent salary increases last year and this year.
Baltimore County Schools, meanwhile, says they need 54 drivers now, compared to more than a hundred a year ago.
The Office of Transportation is excited to welcome students for the 2023-2024 school year! Over the past eighteen months the Office of Transportation has worked with the BCPS Department of Human Resources to steadily improve recruitment practices, resulting in the smallest number of bus driver vacancies since before the 2019-2020 school year (54 current bus driver vacancies). Further, Transportation has worked with Human Resources to identify part-time options for bus drivers and has worked with our partners in Baltimore County government to remove barriers and improve processes related to pre-employment, such as physicals and fingerprinting. Through this partnership, we have also increased the hourly wages again this July for our bus drivers and bus attendants, as well as continuing to provide a $2 per hour shift differential when these staff are transporting students to and from school. Bus drivers and bus attendants are also eligible for monthly attendance incentives and referral bonuses. Last school year the Office of Transportation implemented new communications protocols with schools regarding bus changes and delays in an effort to keep parents and schools informed with transparent, accurate information. BCPS also identified and communicated updated student discipline processes and procedures to improve accountability among all stakeholders for behavior on school buses. Last year was also the first year BCPS utilized two-way school bus radios, resulting in significant communication and safety enhancements. The Office of Transportation is excited to launch the BusWhere parent application this fall, which will give parents and schools the anticipated arrival time to a stop when the bus is on-route, in real-time. Further, improvement to practices in routing have created efficiencies and have enhanced safety measures, resulting in more effective service for students.
Mosier tells WMAR-2 News that they still want to hire more than 20 drivers to build a bench for when one calls out sick.
"It hasn't gone away. The problem still exists. We're chipping away at it little by little. But we do feel better this year than we did going into last year," Mosier said.
School starts August 28 for most Baltimore-area districts.
