Outsourcing student transportation has been steadily gaining traction over the years. Why do almost 30% of U.S. school districts hire contractors to take care of their transportation operations?
It often comes down to simplicity and cost savings. Many schools prefer to hire contractors to handle transportation, even though it results in a loss of control. Read on to learn more about whether an in-house fleet is better for your school district, or if it’s time to outsource operations.
At the end, we’ll discuss the pros and cons of outsourcing, and ways you can work around the problems associated with having an in-house fleet.
Bus Driver Shortage
For almost a decade, there has been a lack of school bus drivers. Finding and retaining quality bus drivers is a well-known challenge for many school districts. One of the ways to overcome this challenge is to outsource transportation to a contractor.
What drives schools to reach out to contractors?
- Budget constraints: Contractors typically have more funding than schools do, making it easier for them to pay the salaries drivers want.
- Recruitment challenges: The shortage of bus drivers has led to fewer qualified drivers applying for roles, which can waste time or result in hiring unsuitable candidates.
- COVID-19 changes: Many schools outsourced transportation during the COVID-19 pandemic to save costs and to overcome the lack of bus drivers starting in 2021. Some of them never switched back to an in-house fleet.
Maintenance Costs Are Through the Roof
Do you know how much money schools spend on maintaining their buses each year?

With most school buses approaching their retirement age, many districts may consider outsourcing operations to a third party, just to get rid of maintenance worries.
Your District Lacks Administrative Resources
School districts lacking administrative resources or facing staffing shortages may prefer outsourcing operations to contractors. This takes away a lot of the workload that would otherwise go into routing and communication.
This also helps reduce staffing needs for schools, since they don’t need as many transportation professionals.
Should You Outsource?
While outsourcing might seem like a great option on paper, it might not align with your school district’s needs. Here are some additional considerations:
- Costs: While contractors may save school districts money in the short-run, contract renegotiations will eventually drive up costs, potentially making an in-house fleet a more cost-effective option. After all, contractors are looking to make a profit from the transportation services they offer.
- Control: Having your own fleet gives you granular control of what happens. You can have contingency plans in case of natural disasters, accidents, and mechanical failures. Outsourced fleets do not give schools that kind of control.
- Reliability: They say if you want something done right, do it yourself. While contractors are professional, there’s no guarantee about what recruitment policies they have in place. It boils down to this: do you trust your transportation department to hire the right driver more than you trust a contractor?
- Community: Most school bus drivers are people invested in the school community. Maybe they have kids who go to school in that district. With contractors, the relationship is generally more transactional.
Optimizing for In-House Fleets
While there are challenges associated with an in-house fleet, there are school bus routing software solutions that can help solve most of them. From fleet management tools to financial management suites, to efficient routing — tools like BusPlanner can help you make the most of your current resources and operate sustainably.
Book a demo today to how you can transform your transportation department with BusPlanner!