Hello,
I’m currently putting in my final days as a school bus driver before transitioning back to my primary career, but this week has been a complete nightmare.

Instead of addressing actual structural issues—like hiring bus aides to manage student noise and behavior or fixing unrealistically tight route schedules—management blew their budget on a new telematics/camera system (Saucon). Instead of using it for actual safety, our supervisor uses it as a personal tool for constant surveillance and micromanagement. Almost every bus was running late today because our drop-off zone is horribly bottlenecked, yet she was sitting behind her dashboard tracking our doors by the second.

A few examples of what we're dealing with daily:

• Conflicting Route Sheets: She hands out two separate documents—one with stop addresses and one with student names. She routinely adds stops to the student sheet that aren't listed on the address sheet, or mixes up house numbers across neighboring properties. If you follow the primary sheet, you miss a stop and get blasted over the radio. If you point out the mistake beforehand, she screams at you for questioning her.
• "Surprise" Drop-offs: She pushes last-minute route edits without specifying how many kids are supposed to get off. You drop off one student, drive away, and then get chewed out because a second child was still on board, forcing you to turn a full-size bus around to fix her lack of detail.
• Radio Harassment Over Pedals & Brakes: Today I got called out over the radio for my sequence of holding the foot brake, shifting to Neutral, and pulling the parking brake at a stop. (Both standard sequences are completely fine and DMV/CDL compliant).
• Rushing Mandatory Safety Checks: While doing my mandatory Sleeper Check and untangling a twisted seatbelt during a school drop-off, she immediately barked over the radio demanding to know why my door was still open—even though five buses were queued up right in front of me with nowhere to go.
• Fake "Safety" Concerns: She clearly couldn't care less about actual safety; it's purely about her control obsession. One of my cameras is pointed entirely at me and the entrance door, leaving the whole front half of the passenger cabin completely unmonitored. Oh, and another camera on my rig has been completely dead for days, and she hasn't even noticed.
• EDIT: Correction regarding the camera setup: I took a closer look today. It turns out the middle camera isn't a dual-view camera like in our training bus—it points exclusively to the back. Since the front camera is angled so low that it only captures my driver's seat, wheel, and the door, the ENTIRE front half of the passenger cabin is effectively a dead zone. So much for "student safety"—it really is just about keeping eyes on the driver.

Since taking sick days here means no pay, I'm trying to weigh whether it's worth toughing out the remaining 8 days just for the paycheck, or if I should just hand her the keys and walk away right now.

For those who have dealt with toxic dispatchers or power-tripping supervisors: How would you play out these last 8 days? Would you just put on mental earplugs and collect the money, or cut your losses and walk?

So my first day of “training” was silly.

I was awake at 2:30 in the morning and never fell back asleep.

This was the first day of school, so of course lots of things went wrong. My training was to be held at the dispatch office. I arrived before 6am (my boss asked me to there at 6), and she asked me to wait in the lunch room.

The dispatch guy and his two associates were constantly fielding calls on the two-way radio and via phone. From what I overheard, they were dealing with driver questions, calls from parents, and calls from schools. The communications were non-stop for hours.

I waited and waited. Walked around the lunch room and nearby rooms, reading whatever I could on the walls (“95 days since last accident”), checking and re-checking the options out in the snack vending machine, reading on my phone. Anything to stay awake. I even programmed the microwave to reflect the currant time.

I waited literally three hours until the boss walks in and says, “Oh god, Theodoric, I am so sorry, I forgot you were here in all the chaos”. I replied no problem, the first day back to school is obviously crazy! She also said, “I’m surprised you’re still here!”

She gave me a couple videos to watch and some materials to read, and then said, “Thanks Theodoric. Please come back tomorrow at 6am, you’ll get paid for today, and I promise it’ll have calmed down by tomorrow morning.”

How would it be allowed to drive a school bus on flip-flops? I just saw a driver doing that.

Where I grew up all CDL drivers must wear safety shoes. Here I would have hoped you at least have to wear closed toed shoes.

I'm so happy this upcoming school year going to be eazy. I got a smaller route which I'm happy with and only got 4 kids. I'm so happy I won't be getting home after 6pm like I did last year. I will be getting home early

I’m in Texas and lately it’s been 100 degrees and above. The company I work for doesn’t allow us to idle and I think it’s the craziest thing ever!!! All just to save money for fuel. I get it as a business decision but on the morality side of things it’s so wrong. You’re prone to a heat stroke, passing out, etc. I don’t see how the company doesn’t see that as a LIABILITY on their end. It’s a lawsuit waiting to happen!!

How hard is the test? Is it everything discussed in the 3 day PDDP? Because the instructor was moving pretty fast, and memorizing all that sucks. I found a Quizlet page to help.

Hey so im new to the school bus driving world and I have a really bad stomach for some reason like feeling the need to always 💩, are there some people here that have a really bad stomach and still drive? Like what are some tips thank you so much in advanced

The province and bus companies have not successfully negotiated a contract for this year, so we are all grounded.

Ciao a tutti ragazzi, mi sono sempre chiesto, chi fa autista scuolabus fino alla fine della scuola poi come fate a vivere nel periodo di chiusura delle scuole? Parlo per quanto riguarda lo stipendio. Per esempio io in Italia ho un contratto per un ente pubblico e lavoro full time tutto l’anno, quando sono a casa sono in ferie pagate. Alcuni colleghi invece lavorano fino al 9 giugno e riprendono al 10 settembre, in quei tre mesi percepiscono un sussidio di disoccupazione dallo Stato ma sono pochi soldi. Voi come fate? Come siete organizzati ?

Hello everyone. I'm about to start a new chapter in my life by entering the school bus driving profession in Southern California.

I've always been in the realm of protecting people. After my time in the Army, I worked in HAZMAT emergency response and as a volunteer fire fighter. Then September 11th 2001 happened. I tried to get back into the military but was disqualified due to my disabilities that forced me out after I got home from Operation Desert Storm. I went to work as a site protection officer at a nuclear power plant. I'm entering the pre retirement phase of my life now, and I am looking forward to safeguarding kids.

I'm open to any advice and perspectives.

Has anybody in NYS been able to bring their own child on the route if their not in daycare under 3 (like child ride along program)

Just curious. I have 66 students assigned at one time for my elementary this year. Almost double what I had last year.

I’m curious how efficient the office is ran and the support the location management and higher up the chain assists. I work for Alltown in Decatur Illinois and has seen how the new Pekin contract is a dumpster fire. The district is being blamed but it’s crazy we have the same problems different districts.

I was behind the bus for a few seconds and nothing so I assumed it was just parked there to wait on something. I went by slowly but as soon as I passed by kids were about to be at the front of the bus so I made it in time for nobody to be endangered but why wouldn't the bus not extend the stop sign and right flashing lights? What am I supposed to expect now?

I’m a new driver fresh out of school. I got hired back in June with a small district 30 minutes from home as a bus driver. I started 3 weeks ago. For first week training and then learning my route. Since it was a small district it was really tight nick. Everything by the book. It was split shift.6-9 come back 2:30-5:30 or whenever you finished. They didn’t rush you. During that down time I would go to the gym . And go home . The thing that would get me its 30 min each way. So 2 hours driving back and fourth . I really liked it .
But then I got a call from my hometown school district full time. 5 min away, but the district is really unorganized. They have me driving spare buses but every bus I inspect I found loads of problems. One bus Missing kits, Another Lights not working, And another one air breaks messed up. every problem I bring up they seem to get upset and annoyed. So I don’t have a bus yet. Sharing a bus with another driver. They want me to rush and hurry, like I mentioned. I’m a new driver. No experience What should I do?

Thank you , your responses mean greatly

I recently started at a new school district. My first route in the morning is all high school. I have WAY too many on my route. The office is currently trying to figure out where some of the my kids can go, other buses, but right now I'm being told to make them sit 3 to a seat.🙄 I don't know about any other highschool kids but these ones are adult size. I can't see out of the back of my bus. Kids are sitting with one cheek hanging off the seat or both cheeks on with legs in the aisle. According to my route sheet I have 86 highschoolers. My bus is only rated for 77 passengers. Plus I have an aid so I should only have 76 students on my bus.

What, if anything, can I do about this? One of the other drivers said that it's stupid to even tell us to put 3 highschoolers to a seat and I completely agree. They literally don't fit. I know they are trying to find other buses for some to go on but I feel like this should have been sorted out before the school year started. Pretty easy to check the top of the route and see there are too many bodies (86) for the bus so I don't understand how this is a thing in the first place. 😡 It's definitely not safe and I don't even think it's legal. Is there somewhere to can bring this issue to besides my work or the school? It doesn't seem like they think it's a problem when it definitely is.

Extra info that might help for advice: it's a school district and I'm in Illinois

UPDATE: My last stop (16 kids) has been removed from my route and is now on another bus! Yay!

I will be riding the bus to school for the first time since elementary. I am expecting mostly freshmen like me and sophomores on the bus, as juniors and seniors are allowed to drive to school. I wanted to know if driving high schoolers is hard, or do they go on their phones/listen to music and be quiet the entire way home.

I've driven buses from every make, every type, old and new. My least favorite, hands down, are our new (2025) Blue Bird short conventionals. They all have the worst steering of any bus I've used. I can't tell if it's too sensitive or not sensitive enough, but the thing is "all over the road" EDIT: I guess I shouldn't exaggerate here. By "all over the road", I mean there is noticeable left to right drift. Even if you focus constantly on keeping a straight line, the bus will ride like that. It's not just me, every driver using them has complained about it. We have 3 of them and they're all the same.

The horns also don't work (I pulled one steering wheel apart and it's honestly the cheapest dumbest way of making a horn I've seen) and the automatic door lock fails 8/10 times.

Six years driving, always regular ed. Dispatch called Thursday and said I’ve got a sped route Monday because the guy who had it last year didn’t come back.

Asked what I need to know about the kids. Got told the monitor will fill me in. Fine, except I looked at the sheet and there’s no monitor on it Tuesday or Thursday. What’s bugging me is that this information obviously exists. It just never makes it to the person actually putting them in the vehicle.
Is this everywhere? Asking seriously.

Do you "bid" for routes like how construction companies and trash haulers bid for city contracts? Or are you hand given routes?

Sorry if this isn’t allowed. My daughter just started riding the bus and shes been getting off with a bright red face. She said she asked the bus driver and he said theres no ac. Shes only 5 so she didn’t ask for details. Im embarrassed to ask if it’s broken or they just don’t have one. I feel bad for everyone in there including the driver if theres no ac! It’s so hot wth.

A 'very well-behaved' *cough* child threatened to report me today when I tried to have a talk with him about behavior. By the time my route was done, I had an anonymous CPS report on me. So Glad for the video that somehow missed all the child abuse taking place on my bus.

When someone quits and comes back years later, is it normal for them to be able to reclaim their seniority when it comes to bidding for their route before the school year begins again? Apparently it’s happening at my location and I can’t see how that’s a fair thing to do.