During the COVID-19 pandemic, schools across the country struggled to find bus drivers. In 2024, school districts, like the Iowa City Community School District (ICCSD), still have a shortage of drivers. 

Maria Chaffee (she/her), a bus driver in the ICCSD, explains the challenges of hiring drivers and the difficulties busing companies face when hiring drivers. 

“I think it’s hard to keep bus drivers because of the split-shift schedule and lack of benefits,” Chaffee said. “Also, it’s a high-risk job, being responsible for the safety of other people’s children.”

Due to the split-shift hours, it’s common for bus drivers to be retirement-age or older. Their age puts many drivers at a higher risk for COVID, so the pandemic took a serious toll on the number of available drivers.

In 2023, KCRG reported that the Linn-Mar Community School District had to cut bus routes, ultimately leaving 300 families without access to busing. The Cedar Rapids Community School District also had to make cuts, reducing their number of bus routes from 94 to 58, before and after COVID, respectively. 

The ICCSD is no different, having had to get creative with transportation. 

Sometimes, when there aren’t enough bus drivers, the ICCSD will outsource drivers from Illinois busing companies. To transport students at North Central Middle School, the district is also testing out a more local solution: a “shuttle system”.

In an email sent out to North Central families, Principal Colby Miller (he/him) explained the shuttle system. 

Miller clarified the new pick-up times. The first shuttle leaves North Central at 4:05 p.m. and the bus will return for the second group of students at 4:25 p.m. This process is repeated in the morning: the bus drops off the first group of students, then makes another trip for the second group. Students who are still at the school are instructed to wait in front of the building or in the main commons until doors officially open for the day. 

Tristan Sievers (she/her), Liberty’s Athletic Secretary, shared her experience with organizing transportation. 

“Transportation is honestly my least favorite part of the job,” said Sievers. “There are so many parts to it (organizing transportation) and if you screw it up, there is a large group of kids affected.” 

Sievers usually has to set up transportation a few months in advance in order to secure bus drivers. She believes it would be easier if schools had 12-passenger vans, so coaches could drive smaller teams. 

As transportation becomes more difficult to set up, Sievers believes student-athletes may need to get out of school earlier, missing more instruction time, in order to accommodate the bus company.