SCHOOL BUS FLEET NOVEMBER 2018 WWW.SCHOOLBUSFLEET.COM

D I ST R I CT F L E E T S U RV E Y

School Bus Driver Pay Rises as Shortage WorsensMore districts are dealing with bigger shortages of drivers, our School District Fleet Survey finds. Meanwhile, most districts have raised driver pay, with the average starting rate jumping nearly $1 per hour compared to last year.By Thomas McMahon

Big jump in average driver pay

$14.50

$14.94

$15.38

$15.82

$16.26

$16.70

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$14.58

$15.20

$15.51$15.65

$16.62

2014 2015 2016 2017 2018

Our 2018 School District Fleet Survey found an average school bus driver starting wage of $16.62 per hour, which is nearly $1 higher than last year’s average.

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NOVEMBER 2018 SCHOOL BUS FLEET

D I ST R I CT F L E E T S U RV E Y

Same35%

Lower1%

Higher64%

Driver pay vs. last year

Nearly two-thirds (64%) of the districts surveyed increased their starting hourly pay for school bus drivers this year.

Driver shortage rated worse this year

Severe24%

Desperate7%

Moderate36%

Mild24%

None9%

Our 2018 survey suggests that school bus driver shortage has worsened since last year. Fewer districts this year fell into the “none” or “mild” categories, and more were in “severe” or “desperate.” The categories are defined as: none, 0% short of drivers; mild, 1-5% short; moderate, 6-10% short; severe, 11-15% short; and desperate, at least 16% short.

School bus service vs.last year

The majority of respondents (61%) reported that their level of school bus service stayed the same for the 2018-19 school year compared to the previous year. Nearly a third (31%) increased service.

Same61%

Reduced8%

Increased31%

Fast facts: averages

Students transportedper route bus

62

Driver starting pay

$16.62/hour

Director salary

$80,245/year

BANK

Annual miles per route bus

12,649

SCHOOL BUS FLEET NOVEMBER 2018 WWW.SCHOOLBUSFLEET.COM

D I ST R I CT F L E E T S U RV E Y

Drivers unionized? Have a bus app for parents?

Yes39%

Yes15%

At the majority of the school districts surveyed (61%), school bus drivers are not members of a labor union.

Fifteen percent of the school districts surveyed offer an app for parents and students to check the status of their school bus.

No61%

No85%

Buy any new buses?

Nearly three-fourths (73%) ofthe districts surveyed purchasednew school buses for the 2018-19 school year.

No27

Yes73%

Which fuels did you choose for new buses?

Districts that did purchase new school buses this year (see chart on pg. 25) were asked what fuel types those buses are. Not surprisingly, the top answer was diesel, with 81% of respondents selecting that mainstay fuel for some or all of their new school buses. The responses in the “other” category were renewable diesel and biodiesel, both of which can be used in regular diesel engines.

0%

20%

40%

60%

80%

100%81% 25% 13% 2% 1% 1%

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Fuel type

Diesel Gasoline Propane Compressed natural gas

All-electric Other

NOVEMBER 2018 SCHOOL BUS FLEET

D I ST R I CT F L E E T S U RV E Y

This survey was emailed to transportation directors and managers at school districts with various school bus fleet sizes (with spares and contractor buses included in this chart). We received 230 useable responses.

$0

$23,600

$47,200

$70,800

$94,400

$118,000

Director salary by fleet size

For the transportation directors surveyed, annual salary rises with fleet size. The average salary for all respondents is $80,245, which is lower than last year’s average, $84,883.

$47,62

1

$64,21

9

$82,43

1

$101

,543

$117

,816

1-24

25-49

50-99

100-2

9930

0+

Average director salary

Buses in fleet

Respondents’ fleet sizesPercentage of respondents

27% 21% 11% 14% 27%

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

1-24

25-49

50-99

100-2

9930

0+

Buses in fleet

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