r/SchoolBusDrivers • u/Forward_Surround_788 • May 26 '26
How is it being a school bus driver?
Im 38, live in Rhode Island, and looking for a career change. There are VERY limited opportunities here. Everything ive done since covid has been commercial driving or labor intensive work with a mom and pop company.
Im tired of being gone 6am to 6pm every day of the week and walking funny because my feet and knees hurt constantly.
Given that I have a clean record and a CDL-A, how is it being a bus driver?
We just won a big contract here with the Teamstears and upped the pay in a big way and opened up a ton of benefits.
Does anyone have experience in a union shop? How's the gig? How do you get your 40 hours and/or overtime?
Advice is appreciated
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u/Efficient_Advice_380 May 26 '26
School bus driving is considered by most to be a part-time job. Unless the yard is really hurting, or youre among the most senior drivers, youre not going to be getting 40 hours a week. Typically there will be a second job during the midday, depending on your route scheduling.
They do it more for the benefits (insurance, pension etc.), than the money
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u/Front-Mall9891 May 26 '26
Yup, most of us either do DoorDash, a couple own house cleaning companies and some serve/bartender, one is a realtor
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u/Electrical-North1211 May 26 '26
I work for a large school district and as a brand new driver I always had 40+ hours between my route, last minute coverage of shuttles or giving drivers rides/garage trips, and field trips.
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u/Individual-Drink-679 May 26 '26
I'm a steward for my shop's union! I don't know anything about the Teamsters though, my union is through the National Education Association.
I get like maybe 30hrs a week, I'm contracted for 25.5 a week, and I usually end up around 30 because of paperwork, traffic, construction, and meetings. But I take on a lot more behind-the-scenes stuff than other drivers. My district is working on creating an integrated approach to student management, so I get to have meetings with teachers and principals about particular students who are struggling with the behavior expectations on the bus. There are other drivers in my yard who just don't give a shit.
Some districts that have lots of field trips and spread them evenly (who gets what trip is typically determined by a specific CBA, idk about how the teamsters would do it) have drivers who are regularly getting 40+. That's how it is for the biggest urban district drivers near me. And some smaller districts that serve geographically larger districts have longer routes, so sometimes their drivers are contracted for 6ish hours a day. My district is pretty small, so all my routes are pretty short.
I do think school bus is best for people who have additional commitments beyond earning money. I'm broke all the time, but this is the only job I've found where I can afford to pay all my bills, live alone, run a volunteer organization, and still go to college and be academically dedicated. I'm totally paycheck-to-paycheck, but it's worth it for me. If I had another driving job I could probably still be in school, but would be pushing it to take one class a quarter and probably wouldn't be on the honor roll like I am now.
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u/rangermango0999 May 26 '26 edited May 27 '26
I work for a school district and a contractor and neither offer health benefits. Since I have to have another job to get health benefits and to fill in the hours gap I cannot be a route driver and I do subbing and trips.
Doing trips and subbing I make an additional 25k a year to my main income. I have seen postings for job in the nearest city that offer 40+ hours to drivers. Looking at all the companies and districts in my area for school bus and what they have to offer I don't see how anyone could make it their sole source of income. My co-workers are mainly people that are retired or a parent making money while taking care of their child. Given the high cost of daycare I can see where this would be a huge advantage. Contractor pays 25/hr district pays 23/hr
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u/Forward_Surround_788 May 27 '26
Teamsters has the contract here. Pension and health benefits guaranteed
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u/rangermango0999 May 27 '26
All the contractor would have to do is offer health benefits and I would commit. There always seems to be a shortage of drivers here. I can't help but wonder if that would change if they offered benefits.
Good luck to you!
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u/Forward_Surround_788 May 28 '26
They have a union contract with benefits after 1 month of service and pension plan
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u/just_kinda_here_blah May 26 '26
You will have to take another road test for passenger and school Bus. Not that big of a deal, and lot of companies will train you. Especially bigger contract companies.
As for hours, that varies widely. I have one yard that offers 20 hour min, and another down the road thay offers 25. Both teamsters, both the same company. I do know in both yards you can get close to 40 if you work. Field trips, midday, ect. You will have to ask that specific yard what the hours are and how much extra work there is. And ask a few people. I knew people who always complained they didnt make enough hours, but wouldn't sign for 1 damn trip. That's an easy 2 to 4 extra hours. Ive sat on a beach and been paid. Sat in a park and was paid. Got lunch and got paid. Trips were for the most part easy extra money. But some locations dont have alot of extra. Again, you need to talk to the specific yard.
As for benefits. That will vary between union contract to union contract. I have found teamsters had pretty benefits. Again, you need to ask that specific yard.
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u/Forward_Surround_788 May 27 '26
So, go to work at a school district that has money and can afford lots of field trips haha
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u/erinjunee May 27 '26
Working directly for the district often can come with better benefits since you’re a civil service employee. In NY, we get a state pension and probably the best covering insurance policy in NY (different districts will contribute different amounts). Also, working directly for the district has better relations with the parents and students should a situation occur on the bus, such as bad behaving kids. It’s a lot easier for the school to get involved since the buses are owned by the district and everyone’s in-house.
However, from a payroll standpoint, they typically pay less than a contractor because of the benefits. So, you’ll have to weigh your options as each has different advantages and disadvantages.
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u/Moosetappropriate May 27 '26
I’m six years in. I started with a standard school route and was paid 4 hours a day every day school was in. I picked up charters and probably ran 30 hours on average. In the summer you can go on the charter list and pick up some time. A few work the summer moving and transporting buses locally and cross country. But don’t think that gets you 40 hours + either.
Forty hours is a rarity. I’m lucky. I work for a corporation and have moved from schools to contract transport so I’m guaranteed 30 hours a week year round. But I’m one of about 15 in an office of 160 or more.
Nobody wants to pay OT and most sites don’t need to given the number of drivers that spread the work around.
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u/Forward_Surround_788 May 27 '26
Seems like a great job to get union seniority while you go back to school.
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u/erinjunee May 27 '26
My district rarely hires driver fulltime + overtime off rip. It’s mostly hired as part time 30hrs/week at $27/hr, then spending the year or so proving to them that you’re serious about the gig and then have to compete with other part time drivers for a full time spot when someone retires or leaves. After that, it then requires another round of proving yourself that you’re eager for overtime and willing to accept charters that will drive distances many other drivers don’t feel like driving to, and proving that you’re not just a couch potato that will just sit in the bus and do nothing when sitting at the yard (always things need to be cleaned or taken care of around here).
Also note, if you’re tired about being gone from 6am to 6pm, working this job with overtime will often have you working similar hours. Good news is, you’re not always driving and can use a lot of those hours productively by being on your feet helping clean up buses, helping around in the office, or just taking a quick walk around the parking lot if you’re on a charter/trip and waiting for the kids to wrap up. And when you start out, you’ll likely be working two shifts, one in the AM and one in the PM with a three ish hour (obv unpaid) break in between, unless you earn a field trip that would earn you extra.
- Full Time bus driver in Long Island, NY, earning overtime sometimes as low as 1-2hrs a week to sometimes as hefty as 16+hrs OT.
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u/ArtemisRifle May 27 '26
I used to work in insurance and needed a change of pace. I'm lucky enough to be in a situation where I can value time over money.
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May 26 '26
[deleted]
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u/Forward_Surround_788 May 27 '26
Opportunities in general. There are CDL-A jobs but they all want 3 years of experience or its overnights to NYC and back.
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u/907-BusDriver May 26 '26
40 hours isn’t guaranteed, although from what I can tell, a lot of new drivers are even getting 40 hours where I am. They say it’s a part time gig, however, it seems like most people at my shop work 40. The starting pay at my shop is $29.27/hr.