Months into the school year, Louisville-area districts fighting uphill battle against bus driver shortages

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- Bus driver shortages continue to plague Louisville-area school districts, some of which report near-daily route cancellations.

Transportation officials at Bullitt County Public Schools said the district is short a dozen drivers. Some drivers are doing double routes each morning and afternoon to cover the unclaimed positions.

David Phelps, transportation director at BCPS, said, in an ideal scenario, he'd like to have two or three full-time substitute drivers and 10 or more substitute drivers to cover the daily churn of sick days, vacations, etc.

Many of the positions were left open after retirements came during the COVID-19 pandemic. The staffing level still hasn't bounced back.

"We've recovered some but not enough," Phelps said.

Jefferson County Public Schools, which is also facing shortages, currently has nine drivers in its certification class. To fill the number of buses it's routed, 57 more drivers are needed.

At New Albany Floyd County Schools, five bus routes remain unclaimed, but transportation officials there said there are enough applicants to provide optimism they'll soon by fully-staffed. However, because it takes so long to earn a Commercial Driver's License, it likely won't be before Thanksgiving that all NAFC busses will run as normal.

"It's not like any other job where you can come in and just start working immediately," said Eric Reid, transportation director for NAFCS.

Reid said several retirements and a few people leaving for higher-paying work left them short-handed this school year. Both BCPS and NAFCS have raised driver pay and have a $50 per week attendance bonus when drivers don't call out.

"This is the first time in my career in transportation that we've had to cancel routes," Reid said. "And, unfortunately, we've been canceling routes probably daily."

Phelps said they've gotten some applications, too, and are constantly training and trying to recruit. In the meantime, the district is working to incorporate a new routing software that they hope can improve their efficiency using what drivers they do have.

"Hopefully, with all those things put together, we can get back to ... a new normal," he said.

Related Stories: