‘When is this going to stop?’ Driver shortage has many school bus drivers taking on extra routes, shifts
LAKELAND, Fla. - Many school bus drivers are running ragged, taking on extra routes, starting earlier and finishing later due to a driver shortage.
"My husband said, ‘Oh my God! When is this going to stop?’" recalled Margie Patterson, a long-time driver in Polk County.
It is probably going to continue until Polk and surrounding counties find a lot more school bus drivers than what they have now.
Polk County is looking for at least 85 drivers. Hillsborough County needs to find about 100, and Pinellas County wants to fill 45 vacancies.
Finding drivers has always been difficult, but with COVID-19, it has gotten even harder. Along with stretching to cover unfilled positions, drivers now have to pick up the routes of fellow workers who are out because they are in quarantine or sick with the virus.
"The fact of the matter is when you’re doing double and triple loads, you get tired," James Hopson, vice president of the union that represents Polk school bus drivers, AFSCME Local 2227.
Hopson says that can lead to more dangerous driving, and buses being delayed.
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