SPECIAL REPORT
community. We’re putting information out to our legislators to advocate for us and working with the FMCSA to have a separate school bus license. It’s a slow process, but we’ll keep promoting systemic changes in the industry.” Christopher also ex- plained that New York Gov. Kathy Hochul has made significant changes to facilitate obtaining a license and help schools find drivers.
“During the pandem-
ic, many drivers found other jobs,” Christopher said. “The state sent out a survey to CDL license holders asking if they were interested in driving a school bus.” The 550,000 respons-
es that came back were forwarded to local schools, so they could follow up with those potential employees, he added. Additionally, the state waived the 14-day wait period between the written test and the road test. New sites for road tests also include the state thruway authority, the New York Racing Association, and state universities. Additionally, the FMCSA on Sept. 1 granted states the op-
tion of waiving the 14-day waiting period between passing the CDL written exam, and taking the driving test, under the COVID-19 Extension and Amendment of Emergency Declaration No. 2020-002 Under 49 CFR § 390.25. Wyoming’s Chrans also spoke of eliminating the 14-
day waiting period between the written and skills test of the licensing procedure. “I could understand having maybe a seven-day waiting period, if someone were up- grading their license,” he said. “Having those behind the wheel skills, like turning corners in a large vehicle takes time to learn.” Meanwhile, Christopher also relayed that the DMV in
Monroe County, New York stepped up to help the local Rochester City School District, which had to cancel the first few days of school in September while addressing transportation issues related to the driver shortage. The county DMV now sets aside certain days exclusively for school bus driver permit tests. If an organization has a few people to test at once, they’ll even provide paper
22 School Transportation News • NOVEMBER 2021
tests to those groups. He added that NYAPT
is also working toward implementing a tax credit for school bus drivers. “Teachers have this tax credit advantage, so why shouldn’t bus drivers? Also, eliminating the earnings cap for retirees that want to come back may help get drivers behind the wheel,” Chris- topher said. “Driving a school bus is the most regulated job in the dis- trict,” “It’s a professional position and should be treated as such.” Corey Muirhead, ex-
ecutive vice president of Logan Bus Company and president of the New York School Bus Contractors Association, agreed.
“I think the profession got taken for granted until the
pandemic made the public aware of how important the job is. Who drives your children to school is an import- ant part of the community,” Muirhead said. “I’ve reached out to retired [firefighters]1 and other people who hold CDLs. They’re civic minded. They are stakeholders in the community. They may come to me and say, ‘I only have an hour a day’, but they have the necessary requirements, so they are welcome to come and drive. I’ve always said this is a recession-proof industry; now I add that it isn’t a pandemic-proof industry.” He added that he is in favor of a specific license if it helps
attract more driver aplicants. “Why have a cumbersome process that intimidates applicants? It’s difficult enough. We’re not truckers,” Muirhead said, adding that one way to speed up the process is to allow for third-party testing. “Pennsylvania and New Jersey allow it,” he continued.
“I have people who are 19A [school bus driver instruc- tors] who do our regular testing in house, but we aren’t allowed to do third-party testing, which would really speed up the process of getting drivers on the road.” Meanwhile, Curt Macysyn, executive director of the
National School Transportation Association, said the issue of a separate school bus license has been bandied about the industry for years. “We’ve been in conversations with the FMCSA about certain parts of the CDL that are geared toward long-
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