For those who were school bus drivers, would you recommend it?

Discussion in 'Questions From New Drivers' started by NY2001, Mar 28, 2025.

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Would you become a school bus driver again?

  1. Yes, I love the job.

    3 vote(s)
    20.0%
  2. I enjoyed it, but I wouldn't do it again.

    1 vote(s)
    6.7%
  3. I didn't like it, though not to the extent of hating it.

    0 vote(s)
    0.0%
  4. No, and I hated it. Never again.

    2 vote(s)
    13.3%
  5. Not a school bus driver.

    9 vote(s)
    60.0%
  1. NY2001

    NY2001 Light Load Member

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    Thanks in advance.
     
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  2. AModelCat

    AModelCat Road Train Member

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    @Flint1 could probably tell you some stories.
     
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  3. Numb

    Numb Crusty Curmudgeon

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    drove an activity bus in the 70's, wasn't too bad kids had some sense of discipline then

    these days? oh hell no!!!!!
     
  4. lual

    lual Road Train Member

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    Answer:

    Only if you have an attorney on retainer that is at least as good as the one who defended O J Simpson....:confused: :eek:

    -- L
     
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  5. Flint1

    Flint1 Road Train Member

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    It's not for everyone....
    I was a dealership mechanic for 25 years. Drove truck hauling cars.
    My wife started driving for a company and we ended up buying the company.
    We operate 6 buses now. I've been driving 12 years. By far the best job I've had.
    I drive the worst of the worst aggressive sped kids. I've got stories.
    Like any driving job, there are those that are good at it, and some are not.
     
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  6. 201

    201 Road Train Member

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    Let's ask Veronica Crabtree,,
     
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  7. Ridgeline

    Ridgeline Road Train Member

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    I know someone who drove for two school seasons for a private company contracted with a public school, the first was alright, consistent work and good route assigned. The second the new manager decided to “shake things up” and it was miserable, most quit before the end of the school year, she thought it would be better to part time everyone, rotate them on the routes and when there was complaints, she would yell at the drivers. She lasted one year and sent packing.
     
  8. 201

    201 Road Train Member

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    1st of all, school buses are dinosaurs, and with on-line schooling, the buses in my area are getting smaller and smaller and even those are half filled. 2nd, with the current state of drivers, I question who is operating these things. It's not old Buck who has a billion safe miles doing it as a retirement job, it's grannies and poor folks with no other options, and we hear all the time of bus mishaps. Before cameras, I saw a documentary on school bus behavior. Before the camera, the bus was unruly, loud, fights, and after a camera was installed in plain view, disruptive behavior came to an abrupt stop.
     
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  9. Flint1

    Flint1 Road Train Member

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    I wouldn't drive a bus without cameras.
    Our buses have 4 interior cameras. Keeps everyone including the driver in check.
    Driver training improved greatly up here in canada with standardized Melt training. And wages have gone up 50% since the vid.
    Min pay for our school division is 26 an hour. My drivers are making more then 30.

    You have mainly bigger companies looking for meat in the seat. And companies looking for good drivers, who do the job well.
    Just like trucking.
     
    Last edited: Mar 29, 2025
  10. Numb

    Numb Crusty Curmudgeon

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    waaay back in the day, in the south it was normal to see a high school senior driving the school bus.