Gov. Phil Murphy isn’t ready to call out the National Guard to ease the shortage of school bus drivers, as had been done in other states.
But that option is not off the table.
“I don’t think we, at this moment, need to do what Massachusetts did with the National Guard. That’s an option we certainly could look at,” Murphy said during a Wednesday press conference. “I think all options are on the table including anything we can do with the MVC (Motor Vehicle Commission).”
NPR reported that as many as 250 Guard members would be made available “to address staffing shortages in certain districts,” in Massachusetts, and that 90 would be training immediately for service in Chelsea, Lawrence, Lowell and Lynn. The Guard will take over driving duties on small school vans.
New Jersey school districts have had to make changes to deal with the bus driver shortage, which is national in scope.
Districts have changed school start and dismissal times so buses and drivers can handle the maximum number of routes serving the most schools. Some districts have shortened the school day, while others have tried to coax coaches and teachers to get bus driver’s licenses to take teams to and from athletic events.
Camden schools took the unusual step Tuesday of offering to pay parents $1,000 to drive their children to and from schools to ease the shortage that has left many students without transportation. As an alternative, some school districts also offered to provide monthly NJ Transit bus tickets for students to take public transportation with someone 18 years or older.
“The challenge is real, we hear about it from educators,” Murphy said.
Referring to the May 2018 deadly crash of a Paramus school bus and a dump truck on I-80 in Mount Olive, Murphy said any changes to put more school bus drivers on the road has to “preserve safety.” A teacher and a student were killed in that crash.
“We have to make sure in our striving to get to full capacity, we don’t compromise safety,” he said.
MVC Chief Administrator Sue Fulton said, through Murphy’s office, that “school bus permits and (driver) testing are managed on a concierge basis outside the online appointment system.”
Most school bus driver candidates are now tested using a streamlined scheduling process that is coordinated through school districts, driving schools, and private school bus operators, allowing CDL applicants to complete several steps in a single visit, said William Connolly, an MVC spokesman.
“This has reduced a five-step commercial licensing process to two steps – offering the CDL exam permit, knowledge test, and Commercial Learner’s Permit in one visit to applicants who are prepared and meet all federal CDL requirements,” he said
Those candidates then proceeding to expedited skills testing, he said.
The MVC has been in regular dialogue with the New Jersey School Bus Contractors Association and New Jersey Association of School Administrators.
“When a member of the school bus industry or a school district identifies a school bus driver candidate, we offer bulk testing on a weekly basis and can expedite direct scheduling at agencies within 1-2 business days,” Connolly said. “Our aim is to move all school bus drivers into prioritized scheduling and off our regular scheduling platform.”
The MVC website said there were 259 open appointments statewide to obtain a commercial driver’s license permit and 4,019 appointments were open to renew a CDL on Wednesday.
“The goal is to put tested, properly-credentialed drivers behind the wheels of school buses as safely and quickly as possible,” Connolly said..
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Larry Higgs may be reached at lhiggs@njadvancemedia.com.
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