Bus companies, school districts offer higher bonuses in effort to hire more drivers
CHICAGO (CBS) -- The school year may be wrapping up, but busing companies and school districts aren't hitting the brakes in their push to fix the driver shortage.
Some are quadrupling their sign-on bonuses -- offering referral fees. one even gave away a car.
CBS 2's Tim McNicholas gives us an inside look at their efforts.
The Valley View School District is now offering sign-on bonuses of up to $5,000 depending on the driver's experience level. Just last year the district offered bonuses of up to $1,000, but they say that didn't have the impact they hoped for.
Something's not working at the Valley View School District. But as Transportation Director Dave Richards explains--that something is not under the hood. It's behind the wheel -- where the district is short about 40 drivers.
"We've had to combine routes. Some routes run a little longer that way. We've had a few
that have run a little late that way, and we don't wanna continue to do that to the students and families of the district," he said.
We searched job postings and found busing vendor First Student is also offering $5,000 bonuses. And O'Neal's Transportation offers $4,000. A sign that districts across the country are still aggressively trying to get drivers in the door.
"There are those days where it can be a little frustrating at times, but the bottom line is we're here to serve the students of our district," Richards said.
Illinois Central, which buses some Chicago Public Schools students, is offering $2,000 bonuses to licensed drivers, and another $2,000 for people who bring another driver in with them.
"So potentially with all with all the incentives, if I sign up and I'm licensed and I bring someone with me, that's an additional $4,000 right there," said Shervon Vaulx, Illinois Central School Bus Company.
In the spring, the company even held a recruiting contest and raffled off prizes. The more drivers an employee brought in, the more raffle tickets they got.
The top prize? A brand-new car, awarded to a driver in Waukegan.
"She picked up the keys the other day and she's rocking and rolling, taxes paid. She don't have to pay anything," Vaulx said.
And at Valley Central, $5,000 is the maximum bonus -- $1,000 is the minimum. They've set up a scale, so the more experience you have, the more of a bonus you'll get.
