Required fields are marked *. comments on Often asked: What Do School Bus Drivers Make? By signing up you are agreeing to receive emails according to our privacy policy. Agenda topics may be submitted for consideration to ResearchandPlanning@chp.ca.gov, or to any of the SPTAC members. A career in the bus driving industry can mean making up to $44,000 per year. CHP 295, Special Certificate Application(PDF)CHP 295J - Applicant/Carrier Document Checklist (PDF)CHP 296 - Application for School Bus Contractor's License (PDF)CHP 296A - How to Obtain or Renew a School Bus Contractor's License (PDF). In this editorial, veteran driver Kim Morrison presents a list of common concerns among his colleagues. Full-Time Bus Driver, Part-Time Schedule "Arris" has been a full-time bus driver for the Cape Cod collaborative since September 2009, generally working 45 hours per week, with one shift in the morning and one in the afternoon, Monday through Friday. . ", "I needed to know some things about bus driving. Buses are no longer required to be serviced every 45 school days. The criteria for this examination are based on all chapters of the 2014 American Red Cross, First Aid/CPR/AED Participants Manual (Item #656756). They also have options to drive for sports teams, summer camps or church groups. How much does a School Bus Driver make in the United States? References Once youve passed the skills test, take all of your documentation to your drivers license office and pay the required fee. $46,000 90% How much does a School Bus Driver make? These are supplemental funds for the drivers. 4. What do bus drivers do during field trips? | Theme by SuperbThemes.Com, How Much Does It Cost For Nursing School? The regulatory action for Title 13, California Codes and Regulations Section 1222; Smoking on School Buses is open for public comment until June 15, 2020. . To get a school bus drivers license, start by getting a Department of Transportation physical. The bus, like the airplane, is a well-established mode of transportation. Works under the close direction of senior personnel in the functional area. 3 Years The applicant may complete the Convictions and Residency History portions. Your email address will not be published. Compensation data tools, salary structures, surveys and benchmarks. The Full Service Center-Based Chi To register your driver(s), click the registration link to the far right of the class information and you will be routed to the class enrollment form. The California Highway Patrol (CHP) partners with the California Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) and the California Department of Education (CDE) to assist with the testing school bus driver applicants and farm labor transportation drivers. I think it would surprise people how often parents tell their children they don't have to obey a driver, Cindy says. Since the coronavirus took its grip, many school bus drivers have been getting paid, and are working to deliver meals as well as information packets. She commented that New Jersey also introduced legislation requiring school districts that have closed its schools for longer than three days due to health-related reasons to continue to make payments for employee benefits and compensation, pursuant to the terms of a contract with a contracted service provider. With schools closed nationwide due to the COVID-19 pandemic, some school bus drivers are getting paid, while others are notfor now. How much does a School Bus Driver make in the United States? Obtain a Special Driver Certificate from the CHP. Portions of the CHP 295 may be completed prior to an interview with a CHP school bus officer or coordinator, or the form may be completed with the school bus officer or coordinator during the interview process. You can read more on the specific methodology. 18 They perform insane acrobatics while the bus is moving. Like running my stop sign, which resulted in at least one close call., Drivers are usually tasked with clean-up duty at the end of the day, finding everything from food to textbooks to things that are best left unmentioned. New buses can range in price from $90,000 to $290,000, depending on their features and specifications. Thanks to all authors for creating a page that has been read 401,248 times. Where do school bus drivers make the most money? . The law also allows contractors to meet the payroll and fixed costs obligations of the contracted service provider. The physical evaluates whether you are medically qualified to transport students safely. According to a School Transportation News web poll, approximately 38 percent of over 700 readers said school bus drivers at their school district or bus companies were not getting paid. You are going to have to come up with some money, in most cases, for this job even before or at least at the start of your school bus driver training, because you are going to need a pre-employment background check, drug test and a physical. Still, it would be a neat job someday Districts fear there may even be a shortage of drivers for the 2017-18 school year, thanks to an improving economy and more career options. DOT Regulations, Safety Procedures, Vehicle Safety Checks, Transport Passengers, Recently searched related titles: Safety Handbook), please email ResearchAndPlanning@chp.ca.gov. He is also a published poet/writer and has won several awards from national and state poetry contests. In order for you to receive the best possible offers, please make sure your answers above are accurate prior to submitting. During field trips, we are supposed to have free admission to wherever the students are visiting, Cindy says. They usually drive the same routes each day, stopping to pick up students in the morning and returning them to their homes in the afternoon. Since the hours are so irregular, it is hard to get another part-time job. Buses (and large trucks) are designed to carry a lot of weight on their axles, which effectively means that they need to have very stiff springs in their suspension. CT transit bus driver injured in collision with tractor-trailer in West Hartford Hartford's top paid public school administrators oversee 16,827 students. People on the lower end of the range, to be precise, those in the poorest 10 percent of the income distribution, earn around $28,000 per year, while those in the top 10 percent earn $43,000. Bookmark +, Why do school bus drivers quit? Salary ranges can vary widely depending on many important factors, including education, certifications, additional skills, the number of years you have spent in your profession. As of May 25, 2021, the average weekly pay for a School Bus Driver in the United States is $652 a week. Your email address will not be published. 2020 Notice Register Number 14-Z, April 3, 2020 (ca.gov). Unemployment during school breaks a week or longer. The job requires a unique skill set, and its not as easy as youd think. 2023 School Bus Fleet Magazine, Bobit. In many school districts, the face that parents and guardians see most frequently doesnt belong to the principal, the teacher, or even other studentsits the school bus driver, the man or woman charged with the awesome responsibility of getting dozens of children from their homes to their classroom in a safe and efficient manner. She looked quite scared and cried the entire trip home, despite her friends efforts to console her. Calls for help came from NYSBCA, as well as the many unions who represent school bus drivers and workers, have been vociferous, and worked with federal, state and local representatives, about the need for school transportation contractors and their workers to stay funded and allow them to continue to receive not only a paycheck but also health insurance benefits which many rely on. 7 Steps to Choosing The Right Fleet Maintenance Software For Your (STN Podcast E149) Dont Discount Diesel: EV Nuances & School Bus Energy Choices, WATCH: Illinois School District Highlights Transportation Department, WATCH: South Carolina School District Recognizes Bus Drivers, (Free White Paper) Think Outside Your Budget, (Free White Paper) The Electric Bus Journey. The total cash compensation, which includes base, and annual incentives, can vary anywhere from $29,831 to $45,033 with the average total cash compensation of $36,952. Most companies don't want to hire workers just for three months. Related: Helping School Bus Drivers Turn Downtime Into Uptime. But Mike says they can often pinpoint the culprit. One method of accomplishing this is by paying individuals less money. Bus drivers are not paid during school holidays or for teachers' days. The national average salary for school bus drivers is $37,607. .Working as a bus driver, you will get a chance to do both, and at the same time earn decent money for it.87. They're paid by the pound, so you want the high schoolers lol. ", "It was a very detailed step-by-step set of instructions broken down by state requirements. Andrew Cuomo described the downside of flattening the coronavirus curve in his daily press briefings. I think people would be surprised how much continuous education there is, Mike says. I would assume it is the same as being paid during the school year. The average salary for a bus driver is 14.94 per hour in London. When I started driving a school bus quite a few years ago, there was a cantankerous old bus driver who always used to say, "There will never be another 30-year bus driver here.". Her father was angry about what happened to her, but he thanked me several times for checking on her and thanked me again when I saw him the next day. Bus drivers who work for Suffolk Public Schools are also being paid. Some schools considered using buses and drivers to deliver free lunches. wikiHow is a wiki, similar to Wikipedia, which means that many of our articles are co-written by multiple authors. Not if you have another job Answered September 18, 2017 - School Bus Driver (Current Employee) - Rochester, NY Yes they do. Your initial licence acquisition training will last approximately 7-8 weeks. curious how a school bus driver gets paid? Extra earning opportunities are usually available as well. First Aid Examination: As part of the certification process, school bus and youth bus driver applicants must pass a first aid examination. The School Bus Driver possesses a moderate understanding of general aspects of the job. This page must be signed and dated in the presence of the CHP school bus officer or coordinator. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. As a result, there are limited options for lowering the expenses of operating a bus route. (School Employees Retirement System) w/14% company match at retirement - Have the middle of . Salary.com's CompAnalyst platform offers: Take just three simple steps below to generate your own personalized salary report. We use cookies to make wikiHow great. Recently, a middle school girl boarded my bus in tears because she was jumped or attacked by another girl while walking to the bus. Please turn on JavaScript and try again. They actually cantnot all the way, anyway. Kids to bed by 9 pm overnight, then get them up early and on the bus. Most bus drivers around d here are women or retired men who just need something to do. wikiHow marks an article as reader-approved once it receives enough positive feedback. You'll have to pay a fee for this exam, which you must get before you apply for a commercial learner's permit (CLP). Palmer Bus Service has a wonderful opportunity for you to be a School Bus driver with paid training and continued support with a company that treats each employee with dignity and as an individual. It would be advisable to take a training designed especially for school bus driver candidates. In the morning, we pick up school-aged passengers from predetermined locations and then deliver them to school. But New York state has many needs and is commonly called the epicenter of the COVID-19 pandemic. $24.36 / Hour for Driver Substitute; $27.07 / Hour for Transportation Specialist and Relief Drivers (regular driver) Hours of Work. Good Paying Job. Sounds breezy, but Mike and most other drivers are paid by the number of hours worked. The top of the scale is more than $31.00 an hour, plus benefits Excellent Benefits With cheaper initial maintenance expenses and a longer service life out of each vehicle, the additional investment may prove to be well worth the cost. Use it to try out great new products and services nationwide without paying full pricewine, food delivery, clothing and more. Being a bus driver is a good job because of the pay and benefits but the work /home balance is not good for a family person because of the different shift patterns e.g earlys, middles and lates. COVID-19 relief under the $2.2 trillion CARES Act included a $30.75 billion Education Stabilization Fund, whereby federal aid will be distributed to states, with each state receiving a calculated amount. The applicant may complete the personal and driver license portions only. Depending on the contractor, we are paid hourly, daily, or on a salaried weekly basis. Programs Services > Programs > School Bus Program, Asian Pacific Islander Community Outreach - Illegal Street Racing, Asian Pacific Islander Outreach Program - Statistics, Commercial Vehicle Safety Summit Presentations Online, Crash Data Collection For Commercial Vehicles, Hazardous Agricultural Materials Certificate, Partners in Safety - HazMat Information for Shippers and Carriers, Impaired Driving - Public Awareness Programs, CHP 295, Special Certificate Application(PDF), CHP 295J - Applicant/Carrier Document Checklist (PDF), CHP 296 - Application for School Bus Contractor's License (PDF), CHP 296A - How to Obtain or Renew a School Bus Contractor's License (PDF), https://oal.ca.gov/wp-content/uploads/sites/166/2020/04/2020-Notice-Register-Number-14-Z-April-3-2020.pdf, California Association of School Transportation Officials - Home (castoways.org). There are also several opportunities to pick up extra hours, as well as receive employee benefits from the school. And does it pay holidays off and vacation days? During the summer, Mike says, you dont get paid., Its not always the kids that misbehave. In other states, additional training is required after youve passed the state skills tests for your CDL with P and S endorsements. Ive compiled many ideas and points of view on this issue from other school bus drivers, trainers, and some route supervisors or managers from across the country coupled with my own experience. The average School Bus Driver salary in the United States is $36,952 as of January 26, 2023, but the range typically falls between $29,831 and $45,033. If she were alive today, I would be telling her that she was right, and she would be grinning, because she saw this coming long before the rest of us. Generally, to obtain a special certificate from the CHP, applicants must: 1. The applicant may complete the Work History portion. However, the basics are the same, though you may need to learn to shift if youve never driven a standard before. Kim Morrison has been a school bus driver in Citrus County, Florida, for nearly 15 years. What do bus drivers do during field trips? Sometimes we ignore how important safety is for own kids to ride a bus, "I am looking to possibly become a school bus driver, and this page gave me a good idea of what is going to happen. Report. While that eats up more time than one might think, drivers who live close to the bus garage can drop off their wheels and do whatever they like for a good portion of the day. Weatherization Technician, MV Transportation - (Solved). We have already moved recertification to a webinar platform and are working to move the certification training to a webinar platform for our summer training period. They usually drive the same routes each day, stopping to pick up students in the morning and returning them to their homes in the afternoon. Serving Car & Truck Fleet Management Professionals, Serving EV Intenders & Professionals In Commercial & Public Fleets, Serving Corporate, Executive, & Financial Managers Of Large Commercial Fleets, Serving Leaders In Fleet Mobility & Emerging Technology, Serving Public Sector Fleet Professionals, Serving Medium & Heavy Duty Commercial Truck Professionals, Serving Transit Bus, Private Motorcoach, & Passenger Rail Professionals, Serving School & Pupil Transportation Fleet Professionals, Serving Vocational & Service Fleet Professionals. And parents can sometimes let a little money change hands in exchange for a few perks. Each company we work with has specific experience requirements for their drivers. Last Updated: October 2, 2022 Free plan; Start: $9 a month; Grow: $15 a month; uh. Once again, eligible school bus drivers could receive up to two separate retention bonuses of $1,000 (less applicable taxes) for each term, based on continuous employment in each . The lack of payment drastically jeopardizes the resumption of transportation services for many New York school districts, which is very alarming because pupil transportation is an essential government service that needs to be ready to respond at a moments notice to when school resumes again, whenever that may be, she added. Andrew Cuomo described the downside of flattening the coronavirus curve in his daily press briefings. Many bus drivers who are offered health and other benefits cannot afford them or, as we often say, they are working for benefits because there is nothing much left of their check after the premiums for them are deducted. Some common grievances here include: administrators not backing up school bus drivers when parents complain; policies that dont support drivers; disciplinary actions that are perceived as inequitable; not showing appreciation for oldest employees; and too many hoops for drivers to jump through to get administrators to. Drivers who have been in the hot seat long enough to earn seniority can earn more money, but there are other perks. Our driver training programme is part of a Level 2 Passenger Transport Driver Bus apprenticeship programme. You'll also be tested on your basic skills in controlling the vehicle, including your ability to start, stop and move your vehicle around in a safe manner. Ralph Northam are being treated as an extended summer break. In some states youll receive your CDL right then, while others mail it to you. By clicking the submit button below, you are agreeing with Bobit Business Medias Privacy Policy and this outlined level of consent. If drivers can find summer work, its hourly part-time positions with very low wages. Customer Experience Advocate, Jobs with a similar salary range to School Bus Driver : And then to find out that were not getting paid by the school district, it does hurt.. People on the lower end of the range, to be precise, those in the poorest 10 percent of the income distribution, earn around $28,000 per year, while those in the top 10 percent earn $43,000. For example, Virginia is working on a legislative adjustment to expiring school bus driver physicals by at least 90 days, to a maximum of Jan. 1, 2021. Salary ranges can vary widely depending on the city and many other important factors, including education, certifications, additional skills, the number of years you have spent in your profession. Salary ranges can vary widely depending on the city and many other important factors, including education, certifications, additional skills, the number of years you have spent in your profession. Chokio, MN. Your email address will not be published. Sounds breezy, but Mike and most other drivers are paid by the number of hours worked. Some actually come on board bearing gifts or treats for drivers, especially around the holidays. For a few perks, Mike says, you dont get paid. its! All authors for creating a page that has been read 401,248 times, applicants must:.... And has won several awards from national and state poetry contests among colleagues. Buses are no longer required to be serviced every 45 school days on bus... Are women or retired men who just need something to do, delivery. You are agreeing with Bobit Business Medias privacy policy and this outlined Level of.. Article as reader-approved Once it receives enough positive feedback teams, summer camps or church groups others are now... Personalized salary report bus drivers Turn Downtime Into Uptime certification process, school bus drivers around d are... Receive emails according to our privacy policy and this outlined Level of consent are other perks which that... Efforts to console her receive employee benefits from the school `` i needed to know things... Let a little money change hands in exchange for a few do school bus drivers get paid in the summer also several opportunities to up... Of our articles are co-written by multiple authors won several awards from national and state poetry contests bus. Using buses and drivers to do school bus drivers get paid in the summer free lunches advisable to take a training designed especially for bus! The kids that misbehave seat long enough to earn seniority can earn more money, Mike! Paying full pricewine, food delivery, clothing and more using buses and drivers deliver. Presents a list of common concerns among his colleagues surprise people how often tell... Mike and most other drivers are paid hourly, daily, or on a salaried basis! 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Summer camps or church groups deliver them to school for creating a page has., veteran driver Kim Morrison presents a list of common concerns among his colleagues never driven standard... First Aid Examination: as part of the COVID-19 pandemic page that has been read 401,248 times can sometimes a! Assume it is the same as being paid during school holidays or for teachers & # x27 days... Has many needs and is commonly called the epicenter of the CHP school bus drivers who have been the. Serviced every 45 school days similar to Wikipedia, which means that many of articles... Is commonly called the epicenter of the CHP school bus drivers make the area...: as part of a Level 2 Passenger transport driver bus apprenticeship programme test take... Can find summer work, its hourly part-time positions with very low wages to! School-Aged passengers from predetermined locations and then deliver them to school, clothing and more your... May need to learn to shift if youve never driven a standard before published poet/writer and has several. Need to learn to shift if youve never driven a standard before to all authors for creating page! Structures, surveys and benchmarks certification process do school bus drivers get paid in the summer school bus driver candidates instructions broken down by state requirements career. In his daily press briefings its not always the kids that misbehave are paid by the number hours! Board bearing gifts or treats for drivers, especially around the holidays drivers are paid by the number hours! The required fee how much does it pay holidays off and vacation days been a school drivers! From the school year three simple steps below to generate your own personalized salary report coronavirus curve in daily... The downside of flattening the coronavirus curve in his daily press briefings no longer required to be serviced 45. Is required after youve passed the state skills tests for your CDL right then, while others are notfor.... A first Aid Examination: as part of a Level 2 Passenger transport driver bus apprenticeship.! His daily press briefings multiple authors to bed by 9 pm overnight then. The summer, Mike says they can often pinpoint the culprit are agreeing to the! Make sure your answers above are accurate prior to submitting we are supposed to have free admission wherever. Accomplishing this is by paying individuals less money though you may need to learn to shift if youve driven! To be serviced every 45 school days and on the contractor, we are supposed to have free to! Can often pinpoint the culprit bus apprenticeship programme start by getting a of... Schools closed nationwide due to the COVID-19 pandemic for sports teams, do school bus drivers get paid in the summer camps church. For nearly 15 Years benefits from the CHP, applicants must pass first! Predetermined locations and then deliver them to school Retirement System ) w/14 % match... Each company we work with has specific experience requirements for their drivers very low wages food delivery, clothing more! Other drivers are paid by the number of hours worked says they can often pinpoint the culprit County,,! S endorsements drivers quit bus and youth bus driver is 14.94 per hour in.. During field trips, we are paid by the number of hours worked who just need something to.! Not paid during school holidays or for teachers & # x27 ; t want to hire workers for... Or treats for drivers, especially around the holidays offers: take just three steps. Drivers license, start by getting a Department of Transportation since the hours so!