School Bus Fleet, October 2017

www schoolbusfleet com General Manager Publisher JAMES BLUE 310 533 2449 Fax 310 533 2512 Email james blue@ bobit com VP Emeritus NAPT Hall of Fame 2016 FRANK DI GIACOMO 49 S Maple Ave Marlton NJ 08053 856 596 0999 Fax 856 596 0168 Associate Publisher MARK HOLLENBECK 3115 NE McDonald Ln McMinnville OR 97128 503 472 8200 Fax 503 472 8228 Email mark hollenbeck@ bobit com Executive Editor THOMAS McMAHON Managing Editor NICOLE SCHLOSSER Editorial Assistant CLAYTON WONG Senior Graphics Artist YUDA CHEN Senior Production Manager SARAH PAREDES Senior Audience Development Manager BILL CIESIELCZYK For Subscription Inquiries 888 239 2455 Classified Advertising Sales DAVID AVILA 310 533 2517 Fax 310 533 2512 Email david avila@ bobit com EDITORIAL ADVISORY BOARD David Anderson Director of Transportation and Fleet Adams 12 Five Star Schools Thornton Colorado Michael Dallessandro Veteran Transportation Director Grand Island New York Ted Finlayson Schueler President Safety Rules Syracuse New York Tim Flood Executive Vice President The Trans Group Spring Valley New York Derek Graham Pupil Transportation Consultant Cary North Carolina Pam McDonald Director of Transportation and Mechanical Services Orange Calif Unified School District Michael Shields Director of Transportation and Auxiliary Services Salem Keizer Public Schools Salem Oregon Cheryl Wolf Special Needs Transportation Consultant Lafayette Indiana BOBIT BUSINESS MEDIA Chairman 1961 2014 NAPT Hall of Fame 1999 EDWARD J BOBIT President and CEO TY BOBIT VP and Chief Operating Officer CYNDY DRUMMEY Chief Financial Officer ARMAND DEL DUCA Business Editorial Offices Bobit Business Media 3520 Challenger St Torrance CA 90503 310 533 2587 Fax 310 533 2512 Email sbf@ bobit com PRINTED IN U S A FLEET Community WATCH READ Dale Earnhardt Jr Teams Up With Thomas to Honor School Bus Drivers The NASCAR star surprises drivers at Cabarrus N C County Schools thanking them and other school bus drivers for the service they provide for students in this tribute from Thomas Built Buses schoolbusfleet com Oct17e Survey Shows Breadth of Backto School Prep for School Transportation New York Association for Pupil Transportation members cite a variety of summer tasks from recruiting new school bus drivers to finalizing routes in a recent survey schoolbusfleet com Oct17f FEEDBACK Discussing School Bus Driver Shortage on Good Morning America In August School Bus Fleets executive editor Thomas McMahon discussed the school bus driver shortage issue in an interview with Good Morning America Read a story on the interview and watch it at schoolbusfleet com Oct17b In the interview McMahon pointed to some of the results of the driver shortage such as route cuts and bus stop consolidation The segment also cited data from SBFs recent survey of school bus contractors which found that 22 of respondents had a severe shortage of drivers and all respondents reported some degree of shortage The segment drew several comments from readers and viewers particularly on School Bus Fleets Facebook page Here we share a few of those comments The pay needs to be higher year round health benefits retirement better training and management support for drivers If all of these happened the shortage would not be as bad Jackie Curtis Bus Driver Alpine School District American Fork Utah They drive the most precious cargo but the pay is so low Better pay would help as well as more aides on those buses Gerri Smith Retired married to a bus driver Phoenix New York 15 or 16 an hour for only three to four hours a day is at best a supplement to another source of income to make a living Also the skill responsibility and stress in driving and managing a busload of kids is worth much more Lawrence Roome Bus Driver El Campo Texas Independent School District They wont pay in the summer so drivers have to search for jobs because in June they get their last paycheck When school starts they wont have a full pay period until close to October Keep in mind throughout the year a lot of drivers only receive 475 hours daily Who can pay rent mortgage etc with such a low wage Tamara Coruthers Tate Bus Driver Humble Texas Independent School District 4 SCHOOL BUS FLEET OCTOBER 2017 WWW SCHOOLBUSFLEET COM