Richland Two Bus Driver Shortage Drives New Incentive

COLUMBIA, SC (WOLO)– After getting complaints from parents about students not getting to school on time and a lack of bus drivers due to pay, the Richland District two School Board said they found a way to fix the problems.

Bus driver, Elaine Price, has been driving buses for Richland School District two since 1984. To her, this is more than a job.

“It’s very rewarding when you work with these children and you have a good rapport with the parents, the teachers,” Price said.

The average salary for a bus driver in Columbia is around $20,000, and for some they said that’s not enough.

Nearly 50% of the Richland School District two students rely on the bus to get them to their destinations.

Richland two is short about 20 bus drivers, which is a gap they hope to soon fix.

The county is working with 114 buses traveling to more than 500 routes , which does not include extracurricular activities and athletic teams.

“We have issues with shortages of buses, we have issues with old buses, and we are also having a problem with retention and retainment of our bus drivers,” Chairman of Richland County two School Board, James Manning said.

Manning told ABC Columbia that the board asked the district to come up with ideas that’ll do a better job hiring and keeping drivers.

“Beyond pay, one of the things the board wanted to say loud and clear to our bus drivers is you matter, you’re important to us, and we appreciate you,” Manning said.

That’s when the incentive package for bus drivers was created, which offers better pay, monthly bonuses based on performance, and extra time off for training.

“We want to make sure that we equip our bus drivers with the right tools to be able to handle discipline,” Manning said. “The school board has taken a proactive measure to hear our bus drivers, and hear the community, and take steps to improve on the situation.”

Bus driver shortages are affecting many school districts across the state as well.

Richland School District two hopes this incentive will close that gap.

Anyone interested in driving a bus for the district is encouraged to fill out an application online.

Visit the Richland Two website at richland2.org or call Dennis Jones at 803-736-3774.