School districts across the US have been suffering nationwide incidents of bus driver shortages.

Because of these shortages, schools and districts across the nation are struggling to go to competitions, conventions, games, and other field trips. 

The Issaquah School District is no exception. As with many programs, COVID-19 caused devastating staff cuts and losses. 

“You had this whole group of professional drivers that didn’t have a job to do for a year or two years, so many of them moved onto something else or retired from driving,” director of communication and research for Teamsters Local 174 (a local labor union) Jamie Fleming said. “When the school went back to being in-person, the pool of available drivers had shrunk dramatically.” 

Compounding the problem of drivers finding other work during the shutdown, the district will lose additional drivers in January, according to Issaquah’s Director of Transportation

The lack of bus drivers is not the only problem. 

“Most districts across the country have seen their transportation expenses increase in recent years,” Dahlia Bazzaz from the Seattle Times said. 

This is partially due to the minimal number of bus drivers and the recent budget cuts districts have been facing. 

As a result, clubs and performing arts are not able to attend performances or competitions they had been preparing for. Liberty Jazz Choir, for instance, had to cancel a field trip to a jazz festival because they could not afford the bussing cost. 

“Each club or department pays for their own transportation, and it can be prohibitively expensive,” Jazz Choir Advisor Erick Price said. 

Another club that has had issues is Junior State of America. Having a convention in another state, they had to travel on a coach bus, which is much more expensive than regular school buses. In order to afford the coach bus, they managed to split the fares with other schools going to the convention.

These costs also heavily depend on what type of bus is assigned to travel on and how long the ride is. 

“If you plan a trip and you’re transported by a yellow bus, it’s much cheaper than if the district has hired you a coach bus. And that depends on whether there are yellow buses available at the time,” Price said.

This is where most criticisms are coming from; teachers and students are complaining about the uncertainty with transportation.

“If you request transportation when yellow buses are unavailable, you have a high potential of being assigned a coach bus for the day which will raise your costs. Oftentimes you don’t even know until the morning of the event whether you will get a yellow bus or a coach,” Price said.

Altogether, these costs make it very difficult for students to attend their events, and only clubs that can afford to pay the high transportation fees are able to attend their trips.

Sources:

https://www.kiro7.com/news/local/students-return-class-local-school-districts-dealing-with-bus-driver-shortages/TOBDHFRBENHKXC5ZWVNHCGMIPQ/

https://sammamishindependent.com/2023/01/bus-driver-shortage-challenges-local-districts/

https://www.seattletimes.com/education-lab/in-seattle-schools-the-cost-of-buses-climb-as-transportation-staggers-is-there-another-choice/