Delaware currently facing statewide bus driver shortage, school districts urging for help

DELAWARE.-” Just trying to get out there how desperate we are for help,” said Supervisor of Transportation for Indian River School District’s Shawn Tidwell.

I’m told, that help looks like getting more drivers behind the wheels, with the current statewide bus driver shortage.

Indian River School District operates 14 buses daily and are down 3 drivers. “So its at a crisis mode right now in an effort to make sure we have all these routes covered,” said Tidwell.

The district says  it’s been an issue for the last 4 to 5 years with many drivers taking on extra runs and the pandemic didn’t make it easier. “Basically with a lot of our drivers they’re 65 or older, so the fear of COVID and getting sick has made this problem a lot worse,” said Tidwell.

The districts says not only are they losing drivers, they’re losing trainers as well. Training is quite extensive and is regulated through state and federal law. “It’s not something that happens overnight. It might take 30 days or it could take 3 months. So in an effort to try to get this done and moving forward by the start of September, its a heavy lift,” said Tidwell.

Sutton Bus Company tells me with their projections for the new school year, they’re down 10 drivers. “On any given day you can have staff take off and we have to have coverage. But this year is probably the worst that I’ve seen it in awhile,” said Vice President of Sutton Bus Company’s David Sutton.

Another challenge is making sure it’s a right fit for an applicants schedule. “It’s part time. They have split sessions in the morning and in the afternoon. Plus, The benefits are not were people need them to be,” said Sutton.

Despite this, I’m told its a joint effort in tackling the issue with children’s futures at stake. “Please! We’re all begging for help to make sure we can get these students to school because the most important thing we can do is educate our youth,” said Tidwell.