School Bus Fleet, October 2018

19 OCTOBER 2018 SCHOOL BUS FLEET ular drivers license Lindstrom explains that in Hawaii drivers do not need a CDL to operate 14 passenger school buses With Mauis low unemployment rate Gomes search was even more dificult Lindstrom notes To find drivers Gomes launched a no holds barred recruitment campaign He attended every job fair advertised daily in top newspapers and on radio stations and ofered 3000 hiring bonuses for CDL school bus drivers 1000 bonuses for non CDL drivers and 500 bonuses for bus aides As further enticement Gomes ofered competitive salaries and benefits Gomes campaign successfully brought in applicants but most of them had only regular licenses so he developed a plan to help them become CDL drivers First Gomes provided extensive training He started by preparing the driver candidates for the written license tests which covered both general and specialized knowledge When the drivers passed those exams Gomes provided the hands on training they needed including everything from pre trip inspections to driving and road skills To ensure they got this training as quickly as possible he hired another company to help Gomes also assisted the new drivers with the myriad hurdles that accompany CDL licensure He paid all the associated fees and even set up appointments with the city licensing department for their road tests Though Gomes worked to get the drivers up to speed quickly he ensured they met his stringent standards for highly qualified safe drivers We trained aggressively and did thorough background checks Gomes says The bus is an extension of the classroom and safety is very important While Gomes was preparing regular bus drivers to take the wheel he also hired and trained the special needs drivers and attendants on how to work with children with disabilities and how to handle their equipment Despite his best eforts Gomes was 18 drivers short when school started To provide bus service to as many schools as possible he deployed management maintenance and training personnel all of whom were qualified to drive buses and brought in drivers from his Oahu ofice He also consolidated some of the routes Even the new employees helped with doubling up on the routes Gomes says They normally have two routes in the morning and two in the afternoon Some had to do three routes just to pick up the kids and take them to school Gomes kept recruiting and training and by mid September he had a full staff of qualified bus drivers Overcoming staff shortages Gomes also needed to build management administrative and maintenance teams which he did by hiring new employees contracting with other businesses and reassigning Oahu personnel His new hires included trainers the outside company he contracted with for training and managers To pick up the administrative and maintenance slack Gomes Oahu staf pulled double duty Gomes flew administrative personnel back and forth from his Oahu office and he relocated two of his maintenance staf members to Maui until By Lynda Van Kuren With limited time to acquire buses and recruit drivers Louis Gomes and his team worked quickly to launch service for Maui students before a new school year began