The shortage of bus drivers that has plagued school districts in New Jersey for several years is not easing. Colleen Wilson, transportation reporter with NorthJersey.com and The Record, in an interview with NJ Spotlight News, pointed out that would-be drivers require “…additional endorsements … background checks and information.”
“This is a problem that’s been going on for a while,” Wilson said. “It predates the pandemic, which exacerbated the shortage of drivers.” She said a lot of private school bus companies are family-owned, “who try to do the right thing, who don’t cut corners. But then you have a lot of bad actors … who see state money, taxpayer money, big contracts available and they go for those they can put in a low bid and then hire suspect people.”
