School Bus Driver Count Drops by 21,000 Since 2019
National employment data shows a sharp decline in drivers, prompting new federal legislation to ease licensing requirements.
By Tessa Cooper ·
The number of school bus drivers in the United States fell by nearly 10% between August 2019 and August 2025. The workforce shrank from 223,252 drivers to 202,076, a drop of 21,176 positions. This decline has led to operational disruptions in school districts across the country.
In Fort Wayne, Indiana, a driver shortage forced thousands of students to learn remotely over three days in April 2026. In South Carolina, the state's largest school district issued more than 7,000 delay notifications to parents during the first 10 weeks of the 2025-2026 academic year. These disruptions have raised concerns among families about the reliability of transportation services.
Victoria Encarnacion, a parent in Waterbury, Connecticut, described a recent incident involving her daughter. Her child waited outside for the school bus, but no vehicle arrived. The daughter walked to North Main, visiting multiple stops over the course of an hour before returning home. Encarnacion said her daughter called to say, 'Mom, I quit.' The parent noted that such missed pickups occur approximately once a month.
Mark Medina, a regional director with the National Association for Pupil Transportation, said drivers often face a difficult choice. He described the profession as a 'lose-lose situation' for those on the job. Medina explained that transporting a bus with 50 children involves complex management. He said the industry has improved pay in recent years and is currently working on retirement cap waivers and tax relief for drivers.
The pandemic created a new challenge for the profession. Drivers who hold commercial licenses can now move to other industries that offer higher wages. Medina cited split shifts and increased health risks for older workers as additional hurdles to returning to pre-pandemic staffing levels. He stated that the industry maintains a 'figure it out attitude' to address these issues.
Lawmakers introduced the Driving Forward Act in 2025 to address one specific barrier to hiring. The bill would remove a requirement for commercial driver's license holders to identify engine parts and understand how they work. Lawmakers argue this rule is designed for long-haul trucking and adds three to four days of training for school bus applicants. The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration stated that the exemption would not impact safety standards.
