School bus manufacturers promote the vehicles as able to carry three students per seat – a total of 78. Other drivers, like Jerry Anderson, get the bus route list before each school year and make personal visits to each student’s home to introduce himself and talk with the families.
School bus driver seat drivers#
“I’ve got drivers who invest time with their kids – and go to their athletic events,” he said.
Some drive the same routes for years – transporting multiple generations of the same family. Many school bus drivers form relationships with their passengers. “If you don’t like kids, this is not the job for you,” Snow said. “After a couple discussions between me and the principals, the kids understand.”īut there is one non-negotiable trait that all bus drivers must have. One bus for special needs students is air conditioned.Īs for the passengers, 99.9% of the students pose no problems. Adding air conditioning would cost an estimated $9,000 more for each of the district’s buses that already carry a price tag of about $92,000 each and last an average 15 years.
School bus driver seat windows#
Transportation Director for BG City Schools Toby SnowĪs for hot days, the buses now have tinted windows – but still no air conditioning. “With older buses, you had to drive half the way to Milton Center before they heated up,” Snow said. They have heaters that self-start during cold weather before the routes begin. There’s a button to push for that now.īuses are equipped with air ride seats and suspension – making the trip less bumpy for the drivers and the students. The drivers no longer have to arm wrestle the lever to get the bus door open. “Now it’s no more complicated than driving a car. “Years ago, it would take a country mile to get them to turn,” he said. “Buses are so easy to drive and easy to maneuver,” Snow said. Snow believes potential drivers are intimidated by the thought of driving a 42-foot bus, loaded with kids.īut today’s buses are not the same as those on the road 20 or more years ago. “There isn’t a school district in the state of Ohio that isn’t looking for bus drivers,” Snow said – including Bowling Green City Schools. Yet there is a statewide shortage of school bus drivers. “Most people who do it absolutely enjoy it,” Snow said. And, yes, youngsters occasionally lose their breakfast or lunch – vomit – along the way.īut the rewards of bus driving are plentiful, according to Toby Snow, transportation director for Bowling Green City Schools. Big rig drivers are in demand at schools throughout the state.
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