As a Boulder Valley advisory group works on solutions to a bus driver shortage, school district officials are urging families with other options to opt out of bus service — and urging those who need it to make sure they register for busing by July 1.
The district is short about 60 bus drivers and, while actively recruiting and offering hiring bonuses, it doesn’t expect to fill all those positions before school starts in August. District officials said a national shortage of commercial drivers, the high cost of living in Boulder County and competition with delivery services are contributing factors.
“We need to rethink how we’re going to get students to school,” said Boulder Valley spokesperson Susan Cousins. “Yellow bus transportation is going to look different next year.”
The 12-member transportation advisory board, which includes parents and school staff members, is providing feedback as the district works through its options. The district plans to finalize those options next month.
Those options include consolidating bus routes and bus stops, allowing a single driver to serve a larger area. While that may mean longer walks to get to a bus stop on a connector street, it will allow bus service to continue, said Boulder Valley Safe Routes to School Coordinator Amy Thompson.
In a typical year, she noted, about half the students eligible to ride the bus actually use the service.
Current school district families whose children are eligible for bus service are asked to register for bus service through Infinite Campus by July 1. New families, or those with questions, can call 720-561-5120 or email transportation@bvsd.org.
Another option under consideration is using RTD to cover routes for Arapahoe Ridge, Centaurus, Boulder and Fairview high schools, if RTD agrees to reinstate those routes given its own driver shortages.
Other areas have fewer public transportation options. There’s not an RTD route that serves Louisville’s Monarch High, for example. Gunbarrel students, who attend Fairview High in Boulder, also have limited public transportation options.
So the district is looking at partnering with other community transportation services, such as call-and-ride services.
To help with consolidating routes, the district is asking families to look into carpooling, biking or walking to school. The district is adding transportation pages to school websites with all the options, as well as a matching program to connect families for carpools or walking groups.
While the district looks for creative solutions, officials continue to recruit drivers.
The district is advertising bus driver jobs on 25 online job boards, in newspapers, on social media, in school newsletters and on the outside of its buses. The district also is recruiting through virtual job fairs, workforce events and community events, as well as hosting its own transportation job fair in the spring.
Wages for Boulder Valley bus drivers start at $19.35 an hour, and they receive full health and dental benefits and free training. New drivers need a commercial license permit and can earn their license through district training. New drivers with a commercial license will receive a $2,500 hiring bonus, while those without receive a $1,000 bonus.
“Our recruiting team is making a monumental effort, but we’re still not going to get all the bus drivers we need,” Cousins said.
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BVSD advisory group working on bus driver shortage solutions - Boulder Daily Camera
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