Todd Silverthorn, executive director of OAPT and the transportation supervisor for Kettering City Schools, said the survey confirms what transportation administrators have been saying for years: Ohio’s bus driver shortage is systemic and affects student access to education.
“Districts are doing everything they can to maintain safe, reliable transportation, but the strain is real,” Silverthorn said. “Our lawmakers and state leaders need to understand that additional compliance measures or mandates do not resolve the core problem.”
One of the most common special routes for transportation was for special education students, according to the survey respondents. A total of 119 districts transport to between one and five special education programs or schools, but 25 said they do not provide any transportation to these special programs. The remaining 39 districts take students to between six and more than 21 special education programs or schools.
Special needs and special education students were considered the highest priority students by many schools, survey respondents said. The other routes prioritized were students with mass housing, like apartments or trailer parks, or low-income areas that don’t have alternative transportation options.
Private and charter school routes, which are commonly cited as problematic for larger districts, were not as common among respondents, which were mostly districts with smaller enrollment.
In the survey, 151 respondents said they transport students to between zero and five nonpublic schools, while 26 transport students to between six and 25 nonpublic schools. Six districts said they transport students to 26 or more nonpublic schools.
Most responding districts also said they do not transport students to charter schools. A total of 144 districts do not transport students to any charter schools, while 20 said they transport to one school, 14 transport to between two and five charters, and five students said they transport to six or more charter schools.
Office staff, supervisors, mechanics and transportation drivers all drive as needed, with transportation supervisors and administrators most commonly covering routes. Driver shortages have also impacted the number of hours that administrators spend in the office, with 35.5% of survey respondents saying their hours have significantly increased due to the issue. Just 20.8% of respondents said administrative hours had stayed the same.
Pay incentives were the most common measure implemented to help mitigate the shortage, according to the survey.
“Ohio’s children rely on school transportation to access their education, and our transportation professionals stand ready to work collaboratively with state leaders to address these issues,” Silverthorn said.
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