Everything had been running smoothly for school bus drivers until about March 2020. Since then, the pandemic has brought new duties, regulations, challenges and fears for this key component of any city’s infrastructure.
“I think very few people realized that our bus drivers were delivering meals and learning packets to kids’ homes,” Paul Meyer, general manager of Hutchinson Bus Line, said of the first half of 2020 when local students learned from home. “That ran into, I think 17 buses running through the summer months delivering food to everybody.”
Hicks Bus Line of Litchfield, which owns Hutchinson Bus Line, also kept busy helping deliver meals to students, and others for the Nutrition Assistance Programs for Seniors.
Students returned to school in the later part of 2020, and on into 2021.
“All of our drivers came back ready to go,” Meyer said, “even though there was still a lot of COVID. It was pretty rampant at the time.”
Drivers with symptoms stayed home 10 days. Field trips faded off due to the pandemic, and a team of 50 drivers kept working. But as the pandemic continued on into the 2021-22 school year, things changed.
“Right now, we’re down to 40,” Meyer said. “We are so short-handed almost every driver drives every day.”
While every member of a team working daily would seem normal in many workplaces, it is unusual for bus drivers, many of whom are only looking for a way to stay busy or pitch in. That means drivers are driving more than they intended, office staff are driving as well, and everyone is having to be a little more creative.
“Our average age is 68-79,” Meyer said.
“A lot of our drivers are retired,” said Roxanne Godejahn, bus manager at Hicks Bus Line. “We have a stay-at-home mom. We have drivers that the spouse has a good job.”
While regular bus routes and a diminished count of field trips have all been covered, sports and after school activities can be more challenging. Meyer recalled combining a middle school and high school wrestling team onto one bus, which meant each time had to wait around an extra hour, one before their event, one after.
Hutchinson Public Schools Superintendent Daron VanderHeiden said there have been a couple of times the school was concerned it would have to combine routes to cover the entire district, mostly due to drivers being out for a variety of reasons. But it hasn’t had to happen yet, and he’s aware Meyer drives almost daily to help make sure of it. He praised the company for raising salaries and proactively seeking new drivers.
“This has been a concern across the state,” he said.
“I think we’ll be OK for this year,” Meyer said. “However, we’re not getting anyone coming in the door looking for work. That’s part of the problem. We place ads, use the radio, use social media and no one is coming. ... We have no applicants at all.”
Hutchinson Public Schools is working with the bus line to consider reforms to its bus routes. Service may be delivered differently next year, and routes could change, but as of now a plan has not been put into place.
Hicks Bus Line has taken to Facebook ads, and even added a billboard outside Walmart to try and find drivers. For now, Godejahn said, the bus line is “maintaining.” It has 40 drivers now, with six more that can be pulled from other jobs. Ideally there would be 50 drivers.
“We are very short,” she said. “There are times there is no one in the office to answer phone because all of us licensed in the office are out driving.”
Hicks Bus Line hasn’t had to decline any requests for transportation, but it’s been close, Godejahn said.
“Because Hutchinson is our sister company, we’ve been able to pull drivers from there, and they’ve pulled from us,” she said.
Licensing is part of the issue, but both Hutchinson Bus Line and Hicks Bus Line offer in-house training, and pay to train, ahead of the state’s test. People also worry about the responsibility of driving such a large vehicle and keeping students safe.
“I’ve heard, ‘I can’t handle that many kids,’” Godejahn said. “To me, it’s not the kids that are the issue. I love driving and interacting with the students. there are challenging times, but we have a support system from the schools.”
The pandemic, Meyer said, factors in. He described it as “nerve-wracking.” Students are required by federal mandate to wear masks on the bus, but a rule on the books hasn’t assuaged all fears, especially not with so many drivers in the most vulnerable age groups.
“They’re not required to wear masks anywhere else, not at school, not at home ... not doing anything,” Meyer said. “But they have to on the bus, so there is pushback from the kids and the parents of us ‘forcing our kids to wear masks.’ It’s tough for drivers to be the mask police.”
“We’ve handed out thousands and thousands of masks,” Godejahn said. “Some drivers do get nervous. I’ve had two drivers not return this school year because they knew with the school not doing the mask mandate, they would have a heck of a time on the bus. Most of our drivers are older. They don’t want to get sick.”
Two Hutchinson Bus Line drivers have died from COVID-19 — one in December 2020 and another in November 2021.
“They contracted it and went downhill so fast there was no recovery,” Meyer said. “That hurt a lot. We have one driver out right now. She’s been out since a week before Christmas. She’s finally getting her strength back. COVID is hitting. People in their 70s have a tougher time recovering.’
BUS DRIVER APPRECIATION
A declaration from Gov. Tim Walz marks Wednesday, Feb. 23 as School Bus Driver Appreciation Day in Minnesota. The Interstate 35 West bridge in Minneapolis will be lit yellow in recognition of school busd rivers. But the celebration goes back six years, with the Minnesota School Bus Operators Association celebrating the event annually.
“Over the past two years of unrelenting challenges spurred by the pandemic, Minnesota school bus drivers have remained resilient and selfless – because they are fiercely committed to the families they serve,” said MSBOA President Garrett Regan.
VanderHeiden said bus drivers are a key component of public education.
“We certainly appreciate everything they do, and the impact they have on our students,” he said. “Typically, many of our kids, the first person they see in the morning from the school district is the bus driver, and the last person they see. That relationship is very important. It impacts their school life.”
VanderHeiden called local bus drivers “dedicated.”
“We have veteran drivers who had been driving for us for a long time,” he said. “We’ve had a stable work force.”
Hicks Bus Line and Hutchinson Bus Line will spend the week offering drivers treats, meals and rewards to celebrate Bus Driver Appreciation Day more as Bus Driver Appreciation Week. Godejahn said if families want to help with the celebration, the best way is to thank their bus driver.
“That’s the biggest thing,” she said.
“Some of them are scared to come to work but they do it anyway because they love the kids,” Meyer said. “They see them grow up, kindergarten through high school. A lot of our drivers are invited to high school graduations. ... It makes them feel part of the family.”
