School Bus Drivers Say Limited Capacity Could Mean Big Problems

BOSTON, MA — The new state guidelines for school buses vastly reduce the number of students on each bus which helps ensure social distancing, but drivers are wondering how they'll be able transport the same number of students in the same timeframe under the new guidelines.

The Department of Elementary and Secondary Education rolled out its transportation guidelines on Thursday, which include limiting bus capacity to about one third, assigning bus monitors and wearing masks at all times. An 83-passenger bus will be able to take 27 passengers, excluding children from the same household who will be riding together, according to DESE.

While drivers are happy to have documented guidelines for the fall, many are racking their brains to figure out how they can make the time or space to comply with guidelines.

David Strong is the President of the School Transportation Association of Massachusetts, a trade association whose members are school bus drivers in districts across the Commonwealth. Strong said he thinks the overall guidelines do a good job of addressing a tough issue but working within those guidelines may be a tough task unto itself.

"What most people would probably think of is 'we'll just triple the number of buses and get the job done," Strong said.

But it's not that simple. In Massachusetts alone there's roughly 9,000 buses and Strong argued that the national demand for more buses is going to be so high and the number of buses available will be so low, that adding more to each district won't be feasible.

"There's no way the manufacturers can supply us with that number of buses this quickly — and it's gonna cost a huge amount of money," Strong said.

Even if schools could sustainably increase the number of buses on the road and pay for those buses, Strong said the other major road block is finding someone to drive them.

"The last few years we've already been dealing with a driver shortage nationwide — even if we could get all those buses, who's gonna drive them," Strong said.

The other option is to have drivers make double runs, but Strong said that would require a drastic change in school times.

"If we could find some flexibility with schools to adjusting the start times, that might be a partial solution," Strong said. He added that at the least, the times would have to give an hour difference.

Changing start times, adding buses and even tweaking routes are all decisions that come down to individual districts. The key to a smooth reopening for schools and drivers is an open line of communication, Strong said.

Colleen Kavanaugh, Director of Planning and Operations at the Massachusetts Association of Pupil Transportation, said she hasn't heard strong feelings from drivers about the new guidelines, but encourages members to continue to be part of the conversation.

"I encourage transportation folks to be at that table when districts are discussing reopening, because it's affecting them too," Kavanaugh said.

She highlighted that the guidelines are subject to change and that the flexibility in them should be seen as a positive.

Both Kavanaugh and Strong said they've thought about the fact that the majority of school bus drivers are retired and older, falling into the demographic most vulnerable to the coronavirus. So far, they said they haven't heard from members wanting to leave the profession specifically due to health reasons, but Strong said it's too early to tell.

"You can't blame someone for that, prioritizing their health," Strong said.

For drivers who stay on, the pressures of keeping kids safe during a global pandemic can be cumbersome, but Strong said one of the best things suggested in the guidelines was the implementation of bus monitors.

"Drivers need to be focused on the road and getting those kids to school safe," Strong said, "Kids are going to be kids and you can't expect the driver to be able to keep an eye on them and make sure they're socially distancing, with masks on, while driving, it's not safe."

The bus monitor would take some of that added pressure off of the driver and devote full attention to making sure students are safely complying with the guidelines.

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Samantha Mercado can be reached at samantha.mercado@patch.com