School Bus Crisis: Driver Shortage Hits 202,000 Mark

The total number of school bus drivers employed in the United States fell to 202,076 in August 2025. This figure represents a decline of nearly 10% from the 223,252 drivers recorded in August 2019. Districts across the country are currently managing operations with this reduced workforce.

Service disruptions have become common as districts attempt to fill the gap. In Fort Wayne, Indiana, thousands of students attended school remotely for three days in April 2026 due to a lack of available drivers. In South Carolina’s largest district, more than 7,000 delay notifications were sent to parents during the first 10 weeks of the 2025-2026 academic year.

Families report that missed pickups are affecting daily routines. Victoria Encarnacion said her daughter in Waterbury, Connecticut, waited outside at a stop and eventually walked to North Main after an hour. Encarnacion said the incident led her to keep her daughter home that day. “She called me and told me, ‘Mom, I quit,’” Encarnacion said. Encarnacion estimates these missed pickups occur about once a month.

Mark Medina, a regional director with the National Association for Pupil Transportation, described the situation as a “lose-lose situation” for drivers. Medina noted that transporting 50 children is a complex task. He said the association is working to secure retirement cap waivers and tax relief to improve pay conditions. Medina stated, “They’re doing the best that they can.”

The pandemic highlighted the mobility of commercial driver’s license holders. Drivers can often move to other industries that offer higher wages. Medina said split shifts and changes in risk factors for an older workforce make it difficult to return to pre-pandemic staffing levels. He added, “There’s a figure it out attitude in the school transportation world.”

Lawmakers introduced the Driving Forward Act in 2025 to address a specific hiring barrier. The bill would remove the requirement for school bus drivers to identify engine parts and understand how they work. Proponents argue this requirement is designed for long-haul trucking and adds three or four extra days of training. The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration says the exemption would not affect safety.

The bill aims to streamline the licensing process for potential new hires. Currently, all commercial driver’s license holders must pass this technical knowledge test. The proposed change targets only the specific knowledge requirements for school bus operators.