Five years ago, when COVID shut down all public services, school districts lost an abundance of substitute teachers and bus drivers.
However, a problem had been brewing even before the lock downs.
Since COVID, busses serving the Bellwood-Antis School District have had harder times getting substitutes to drive, and often times bus routes are combined, increasing the number of kids on each ride.
The driver shortage is a real problem that Raystown Transit, B-A’s bus service provider, deals with on a daily basis.
On Friday, February 28, a bus from Bellwood was not able to get a substitute and did not send out a bus on route. Thew district sent out an email stating that bus No. 4 would not be showing up to pick kids up. Parents had to provide transportation that day but if parents were not able to drop their kids off, the day would count as a legal emergency absence.
“We had to condense a couple routes. We are hoping for this to be for a short time period, and we will be getting back to normal,” said B-A superintendent Mr. Ed DiSabato.
Within the last year, B-A has had to cut two bus routes. Earlier this month, bus route No. 8 was collapsed due to the driver shortage, a change the district told parents in an email would last for at least six weeks.
Raystown transit is dealing with shortage with continuous communication.
“The bus drivers and I are constantly communicating and brainstorming on how to make the most of our resources,” said Shae Harkleroad, the Raystown Transit fleet manager. we are so fortunate to be a great working relationshi0p where we are able to have open communication with our schools that we serve to make adjustments as needed.”
Raystown also provides transportation to sports and after school events, making staffing even more difficult.
“We have a couple of retired drivers that only do sports trips, and that greatly helps coming into the spring of the year with all of the spring sports,” Harkleroad said.
The bus driver shortage is all over the US, not just in Bellwood-Antis or Blair County. A 2024 survey by HopSkipDrive found that 91% of respondents — “made up of school and district leaders and transportation professionals — are experiencing a driver shortage in their district. Sixty percent of school leaders say the driver shortage has been severe enough to require shortened or reduced routes.”
The same survey found that bus shortages have an overwhelmingly negative impact on students and their families, resulting in stress and absenteeism.
As of March 11, Bellwood has accepted 2 new bus drivers, they will be in training for the next 6 weeks. For anyone looking for employment, the opportunity is there.
“Ideally, Raystown Transit could use 2 or 3 full time school bus drivers for daily routes but we could also train individuals to drive bus even if they only wanted to handle sports trips with us,” Harkleroad said. “The logistics of school transportation is a fast paced, ever-changing business that keeps us on our toes daily.”
