Wake County on lookout for school bus drivers

  • 2015-06-30
Wake County's public school system, which includes Raleigh, is facing a lack of drivers for school transport.

According to a June 16, 2015 news item, the school district is approximately 90 drivers short of the number they need, mostly because people are finding alternative jobs elsewhere. The matter was discussed at a meeting of school leaders and district staff on June 15. As a result, school officials are currently having open houses in order to recruit new drivers. The officials are also considering the practice of job sharing.

School district staff members also announced a number of upgrades to the way buses operate. First, when a driver stops a school bus, he or she will make certain all vehicles are stopped before operating the stop arm. In addition, during their first week, students will be given updated training in safety procedures.

In another development, the district intends to put onboard cameras on 85 of its school buses. It hopes to be able to add cameras to all its buses soon.

Finally, the district intends to publish bus routes for those students who attend year-round online by the end of June. For students who are on the traditional schedule, the bus schedules will be available online by August 14.

District officials might consider not all students have easy access to computers, and could have trouble seeing the information. They could work with a flyer printing company on a mailer for district students to provide the schedules on paper.