Driver Shortage Forces Edison Schools To Cut Back On Bus Routes

EDISON, NJ — The national bus driver shortage is having an impact on one of New Jersey’s largest school districts and has forced them to cancel around 31 bus routes.

A week after schools reopened, Edison Township Public Schools informed parents and guardians that transportation from certain neighborhoods will be unavailable due to the driver shortage.

"Two days before the start of school, one of our vendors informed the district via email that they could not honor 40 of their 115 routes with the district due to this shortage,” Superintendent Bernard Bragen told Patch.

“Our staff in our transportation department and our own drivers are doing the best they can to accommodate this shortage, and despite their best efforts, it will take some time to sort this out.”

Schools impacted by the shortage include John Adams Middle School, James Madison Primary School, Lincoln Elementary School, Lindeneau Elementary School, James Madison Primary and Intermediate Schools, Menlo Park Elementary School, Washington Elementary School, Woodbrook Elementary School among others. Click here to check out the full list.

The school district is planning to combat this shortage by combining bus routes when possible and consolidate smaller runs to transport students impacted by the route cancellation.

“In the long term, we seek to purchase more buses and not to be so vulnerable to these outside forces,” Bragen said.

Read More Here: NJ District Alters School Schedule Over Bus Driver Shortage

Read More Here: Bus Driver Shortage Forces New Start Times For Toms River Schools

Nationwide, there are school districts wrestling with the problem of staffing school bus routes. An EdWeek report said districts in Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, Colorado and Missouri, to name a few, where reducing the number of bus routes, changing school start times and that there still were students without transportation.

The issue in many places is a combination of low wages and health concerns as a result of the pandemic, the EdWeek report said.

The New Jersey School Bus Contractors Association told 6 ABC that about 20 percent of bus drivers didn't return after layoffs associated with the coronavirus pandemic.

School districts have been competing with trucking companies and mass transit agencies over drivers who have commercial licenses, nj.com reports.

With reporting from Anthony Bellano and Karen Wall.

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