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Tampa parents share photos of overcrowded buses amid driver shortage

By
Published  August 22, 2024 11:04pm EDT
Hillsborough County
FOX 13 News

Parents worry about overcrowded buses

Evyn Moon reports

TAMPA, Fla. - Parents in Hillsborough County are concerned over photos that show students on overcrowded buses. Similar to the statewide teacher shortage, Tampa Bay counties are also having trouble hiring bus drivers. 

Photos taken by a parent show kids on their way to school, sitting in the aisle and squeezing four to a seat. The parent who shared these photos is worried about her child's safety. The county said they’ve addressed the driver about the photos, and that all students must be in a seat.

There’s just more than 600 drivers in Hillsborough County right now, but five years ago, there were more than 800. But with more routes now than ever before, each bus maxes out at 77 students legally – and many times it’s over capacity. 

READ: Court sides with Hillsborough school district to put teacher pay referendum on November ballot

"It's a real problem. We're critically short bus drivers. We are hiring bus drivers every day. We work in partnership with transportation and the school district to get this done. And we are hiring, but we're short. We're probably a little over 100 drivers short right now," said Stephanie MacNeel with Hillsborough School Employees Federation. "The reality of the situation is we're not going to leave a child standing. So is there going to be overcrowding on some buses? We do everything we can to mitigate that problem. But if we pull up to a bus stop to pick up students, and they're standing, we cannot leave them. So we either pull over and everyone waits till we get another bus there, or we get them to school."

She said the problem is pay. 

School bus drivers in Hillsborough County only make about $25,000 a year. A tax increase that would help fund teacher and bus driver pay will be on the 2024 ballot in the county.

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