Bus driver shortages continue, but determining how bad they are is complicated

Virginia’s public schools continue to face challenges transporting students to school amid ongoing bus driver shortages spurred by factors such as low pay and strict safety and retirement regulations.

At the same time, divisions have also found creative ways to stay ahead of the driver shortage. Shannon Grimsley, superintendent of Rappahannock County Public Schools, said she is becoming a part-time bus driver in hopes of alleviating transportation barriers for students.

“The best way for me to get in there to see what’s going on is to understand the whole process myself,” Grimsley told The Virginia Mercury.

Last school year, the Virginia Department of Education began collecting bus driver vacancy data from school divisions. The most recent numbers collected by the department for the 2022-23 year appear to show some improvements, with vacant roles falling from almost 16% of full-time driving jobs across the state to a little over 12%. Central Virginia, which includes the city of Richmond and Chesterfield, Hanover, Henrico and Goochland counties, has seen the largest uptick in bus drivers over the past year, decreasing its vacancy rate by 10.8 percentage points.

However, those data also reveal the situation is far more complicated, making it difficult to determine whether shortages are actually improving.

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