A National Bus Driver Shortage is Upending Texas’ Beloved Friday Night Football Games
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In the autumn on Friday nights, the towns in East Texas come alive with the excitement of high school football. Fans adorned in their school colors gather in stadiums to support their teams, while marching bands, cheerleaders, and drill teams add to the competitive atmosphere by reviving age-old rivalries.
However, Nacogdoches High School in East Texas experienced a setback when a lack of bus drivers prevented the transportation of student groups to an away football game in Titus County. This left the town feeling disheartened, as the absence of the band and drill team diminished the usual vibrant atmosphere.
Adrian Belista, a junior at Nacogdoches High and the drum major for the band, expressed his disappointment, stating, "The atmosphere just isn’t the same without the band and drill team there, playing and creating noise for the team. It felt like something was missing."
To make up for the absence, Belista and his 205 bandmates put on a performance at their home Dragon Stadium on that Friday night in mid-October. Meanwhile, the football team played their game in Mount Pleasant, which required a two-and-a-half-hour bus journey, without their customary fanfare or pre-game fight song.
This shortage of bus drivers is not unique to Nacogdoches High School but is a problem faced by school districts across the state due to a nationwide shortage of bus drivers. While the issue is not new, it has been further exacerbated in recent months by a labor crisis resulting from factors such as the COVID-19 pandemic, childcare challenges, and a decrease in immigration.
According to a February 2022 survey conducted by the American Public Transportation Association, 71% of transit agencies reported having to reduce or delay service due to a shortage of workers.
This problem is particularly pronounced in expansive rural regions like East Texas, where commutes tend to be longer and the labor force is already limited. Les Linebarger, the spokesperson for the Nacogdoches school district, which operates about 40 daily bus routes, acknowledged the difficulty in finding bus drivers, saying, "It’s not just us seeking help, but other companies like Pilgrim’s Pride and Tyson Foods in Center are also in need. We are all competing for the same small labor pool."
When the district reached out to multiple charter bus companies for assistance in transporting students to the recent football game, they discovered that all the companies were already booked.
In Longview, further north, the school district has managed to fill vacant driver positions in recent weeks. However, without substitute drivers or backups, the district still faces challenges whenever a driver calls in sick. When this occurred in late October, the district was forced to combine two bus routes, resulting in an unusually high number of students on a single yellow bus.
Wayne Guidry, the superintendent of business, transportation, and technology, expressed his lack of surprise when a fight broke out among students on that day. He revealed, "Ninety-eight percent of our problems arise when we have to combine kids on buses. That’s when incidents like this tend to happen."
School districts have attempted to address the shortage of bus drivers by increasing their pay rates and organizing job fairs.
For instance, the Tyler school district in Texas ran a targeted recruitment campaign last year. They displayed slogans like "Parents Do This for Free; We’ll Pay You" on the sides of buses. Additionally, the district covers the costs of training required for drivers to obtain a commercial driver’s license. Potential employees are hired as bus driver trainees, earning $12 per hour, and they receive their commercial learner’s permit while completing a self-paced training program, which typically takes two to three weeks to finish. According to Jennifer Hines, the spokesperson for the district, this program has helped the district manage its 154 daily routes. However, they still require an additional eight drivers. Some district officials argue that new federal training requirements for bus drivers are excessive and hinder the recruitment of new employees.
The U.S. Department of Transportation establishes minimum training standards for entry-level drivers. In February, a new training requirement was implemented, mandating that drivers take a class before taking the CDL test for a permit. These classes must be conducted by an institution approved by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration and can last two to three weeks, costing hundreds of dollars.
Linebarger acknowledged the dilemma, stating, "It’s a double-edged sword. While we want drivers who are properly trained and focused on safety, if the licensing process becomes more challenging, it will inevitably impact our numbers."
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