Unlike the millions of Americans who worked from home during the pandemic, school bus drivers can only work in-person. When many schools went virtual, there were few options for school bus drivers. This all happened because of covid but even before covid if the school districts were not going to open the schools they would put them on lay off without any pay.

The average pay for a school bus driver in 2020 was $16.67 per hour, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. This is only an 11-cent increase from 2018.Salem-Keizer Public Schools in Oregon pay drivers better than average. Salaries for drivers range from $17.90 to $22.86 in a state with a minimum wage of $12.75 per hour, according to the U.S Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Many quit or many retired or  died from different countries , many bus drivers were over the age of 55 some were afraid of getting Covid-19 from this pandemic, which is more deadly to older people as it is to teenagers right now. No bus driver when they got laid off when schools went virtual none got paid .They lost health benefits and had to rely on unemployment benefits to make a living. They couldn’t work somewhere else because it was company policy with the school that didn’t allow them to do that. But new safety requirements for COVID-19 mean drivers need more time to train and clean.

The school district offers medical, dental, vision and retirement benefits. The district is currently offering bonuses to new drivers. This shortage isn’t going away, it may get a little better, but it’s not going to go away soon it will still be happening for many years, until the school districts change and they better their policies. This might be a solution to fix this problem ,because it’s getting worse each year .The problem is to many people dying because not enough people wear mask especially old age bus drivers. They don’t get paid for what they work for because the school districts don’t care enough .