Hoover schools have bus driver shortage; need 30+ drivers

The Hoover school system, like many school systems across the country, is experiencing a shortage of bus drivers and may have to adjust the level of service it provides if more drivers can’t be found, school officials say.

The school district currently needs about 20 more bus drivers to help cover routes, plus at least 10 substitute bus drivers to cover for drivers when they’re absent, said Jeremy Bradford, the system’s transportation director.

The number of bus drivers has dropped from 138 in the 2021-22 school year to 116 bus drivers currently, Bradford told the school board this month.

At the same time, the number of bus routes has grown from 183 routes in the 2021-22 school year to 201 routes now, Bradford said. To make things work, the transportation department has had to increase the number of double routes for bus drivers from 48 to 85 in the same time. Meanwhile, the number of single routes has dropped from 87 to 31.

The number of students riding the buses has dropped since the COVID-19 pandemic hit. In the 2019-20 school year, there were 7,456 students riding buses, but that has fell to 6,633 in 2020-21 and 4,889 in 2021-22. This school year, the number of students riding the bus climbed back up to 5,316.

Each day, the Hoover school system’s 116 buses go 6,945 miles and are expected to arrive at 4,858 stops within a 10-minute window, Bradford said.

In conjunction with adding more double routes, the school system has adjusted its bell schedule at different levels of schools so that schools begin and end at different times.

In an effort to better attract drivers and decrease absenteeism, the transportation department has increased the pay for drivers and aides who exceed 20 hours per week, increased substitute driver pay from $60 to $90 per day, offered a referral fee for school system employees, offered a perfect attendance bonus for transportation employees and offered a half-route option (for someone that only wants to drive only mornings or only afternoons) that includes health insurance benefits.

The department also provides free in-house training and is in the process of adding air conditioning to all its buses.

Two years ago, none of the regular education buses had air conditioning, Bradford said. When the next batch of new buses arrives, hopefully by Christmas, 100 of the 116 buses with regular routes will have air conditioning, he said.

Other steps being considered include allowing interested teachers and certified staff to serve as bus drivers, removing unused stops from the routes, creating neighborhood stops instead of stops at each house, increasing the number of students assigned to each bus and transporting different grade levels (elementary, middle or high school) on the same buses.

One bus already serves students from both Berry Middle School and Spain Park High School, Bradford said.

For information on how to apply to become a bus driver for Hoover City Schools, go to hoovercityschools.net/Domain/31.