But the industry’s glamour gradually faded as time went by, especially with the lull brought on by 2020. “You see the future in this job because the salary is good,” he said. Liriano says that things were different when he started 22 years ago. On Indeed, around 130 school bus driver positions in the New York City area were posted in the last 14 days, and many of them are listed as “urgently hiring,” with a sign-on bonus from $500 to $3,000. Liriano, who works for Consolidated Bus Transit Incorporated, says the additional school on his afternoon route sometimes extends his workday if the traffic is bad, making his trek back to The Heights much longer.Īs workload piles for existing drivers, there’s also a growing challenge to recruit new ones. Lately, with the rising driver shortage in the city, extra stops have been added to his schedule. He then picks up 17 students from eight locations and drops them off at their Upper Manhattan elementary by 8 AM. On a typical morning, he gets up at 3:45 AM, leaves his Washington Heights home for the Bronx, gets his bus before driving back uptown to begin his route at 7 AM. The burden of this shortage falls on the shoulders of the drivers who, for some, have to take on extra miles, covering more schools than before.Įlvis Liriano has been a New York City school bus driver for 22 years. But in the past year, the city is now short-staffed by 20%. New York City makes up 40% of that statewide count at about 50,000 drivers. In New York State, there are about 125,000 school bus drivers and superintendents. This shortage is part of an ongoing nationwide issue worsened by the pandemic and recent in-person school reopening. “They were trying to help me,” Ever said, “but they just said they were short-staffed of bus drivers.”Įver was forced to relocate to another shelter in the Upper West Side, moving her daughter to a different school within walking distance. Before the school year started, Ever checked with the Board of Education and even called her school district. “They’re supposed to give me a school bus,” Ever said. Living in a Long Island City shelter, her daughter has always been eligible for a school bus service, even before the pandemic. The bus that drove her to Public School 199 Maurice A. Gloria Ever’s 6-year-old daughter missed the first month of school.
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