FRAMINGHAM, MASS. (WHDH) - State-wide shortage of school bus drivers for some districts is leaving a driver deficiency across the state struggling to fill the gaps.
Executive Director Tom Hamilton of the School Transportation Association of Massachusetts said suburbs are mostly affected.
“We’re seeing probably about a 10 to 15 percent shortage across the state in all the suburbs,” Hamilton said.
Framingham needs 77 total drivers to accommodate all students but only have 57 drivers currently employed to start the year
“That’s a lot of drivers to be sure, and if you have an injury or somebody’s out sick, it just compounds it,” Hamilton said.
In Hopkinton, a bus in front of the high school was advertising for potential bus drivers to apply. The sign says “Drivers Wanted. Will Train.”
Many districts are still trying to bounce back from the pandemic when some drivers had to get more consistent employment.
“It was shaky because some districts were only going two days a week, some were going three, some were going one, so it varied. There was no consistency,” Hamilton said.
Boston Public Schools, the largest district in the state, said they are not running into the same problem. BPS said they have 733 drivers for 631 routes. Another 35 people are also in training.
The district launched a new initiative this year to pay for the specialized training for potential hires.
“The challenge is you have to get a CDL driver’s license so you have to know how to drive a commercial vehicle,” Hamilton said. “You have extra training, which is a 60 hour course.”
Framingham Public Schools said they have already sent out a message to parents that they may need to come up with an alternative plan to get their children to schools.
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