U.S. school bus drivers drop 10% as districts struggle to fill routes

The number of school bus drivers employed in the United States decreased by nearly 10% between August 2019 and August 2025. The workforce shrank from 223,252 to 202,076 during that six-year period. This decline has led to frequent service disruptions for students across multiple states.

In Fort Wayne, Indiana, thousands of students attended school remotely over three days in April 2026 due to a lack of available drivers. South Carolina’s largest school district issued more than 7,000 delay notifications to parents during the first 10 weeks of the 2025-2026 academic year. Victoria Encarnacion, a parent in Waterbury, Connecticut, reported that her daughter missed her bus pickup approximately once a month. On one occasion, the child waited outside, realized no vehicle was coming, and walked to a different stop. After an hour of walking, she returned home. Encarnacion stated that the stress of uncertainty affects the household daily, even when the specific event is monthly.

Mark Medina, a regional director for the National Association for Pupil Transportation, attributed the shortage to several factors. He noted that the pandemic revealed how easily drivers with commercial licenses could switch to other industries offering higher wages. Medina described the current situation for drivers as a lose-lose scenario. He explained that transporting a bus with 50 children involves complex responsibilities. While pay has improved in recent years, the association is seeking retirement cap waivers and tax relief. Medina also pointed to split shifts and changes in risk factors for older workers as obstacles to recovering pre-pandemic staffing levels.

Lawmakers introduced the Driving Forward Act in 2025 to address one specific hiring barrier. Currently, all commercial driver’s license holders must identify engine parts and explain their function. Proponents argue this requirement is designed for long-haul trucking and adds three to four days of unnecessary training for school bus drivers. The bill would exempt school bus drivers from this specific knowledge requirement. The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration stated that the exemption would not impact safety.

Medina expressed confidence in the industry’s ability to resolve the shortage. He cited a figure-it-out attitude within the school transportation world. The association continues to work on policy changes while districts manage the immediate impacts on student commutes.