3 Problems in the Student Transportation Industry

The big yellow buses on the road are symbolic of the American education system and culture. Every day, 26 million children in the US board a school bus to get educated and become potential leaders. But are they actually getting to their schools?

It’s a harsh reality that many children are missing school because of gaps in transportation, which has increased the problem of chronic absenteeism plaguing the US. So, what’s happening?

Not Enough Drivers

The school bus driver shortage has been waging on from before the COVID-19 pandemic and seems to be getting worse with time. With fewer drivers available, schools are underutilizing their buses, leading to more inefficient routes.

Not only does this put more wear on the buses, but it also overworks the few bus drivers that are still in the field. Here are some issues that the driver issues can lead to:

While it is a fairly challenging problem that has been impacting the industry for almost a decade, there are creative ways to combat the school bus driver shortage.

Buses Spend too Much Time in the Shop

Considering the value of cargo they transport, school buses aren’t the most reliable vehicles on the road. School buses typically have an average life of 15 years.
Can you guess how old most school buses on the road currently are?

Not only are buses more unreliable, but there is also a shortage of technicians. Many school districts have tried combatting this shortage by increasing wages for technicians. While this may not be feasible for every school district, the alternative is to engage in preventive maintenance to reduce downtime.

School bus fleet maintenance tools can help schools keep their buses in top shape with extensive diagnostics.

Declining Ridership

Trust is one of the hardest things to earn, especially as a service provider. School buses transport thousands of students every day, but that number has rapidly declined in recent years.
This statistic is alarming for several reasons. Not only does this have massive implications for traffic congestion and pollution, but it also impacts the student transportation industry.

With over 60% of students commuting to school in private cars, it’s clear where student ridership on buses is going. Why did this happen? Well, several reasons led to this:

The Big Picture

Most of these problems boil down to limited funding. With ESSER funds going away, finances are getting tighter for school districts. One way to combat the declining funding is to invest in school bus routing software that can help improve operations.

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