It’s no secret.
During the fall, our state comes to life beneath the Friday Night Lights. Now, parts of the Lone Star State are in danger of losing that magic.
A shortage of bus drivers is causing high school groups to miss games. Teams are still making the journey, but bands, cheerleaders, and other supporters have no way of getting from here to there.
Especially in East Texas. The sprawling area has commute issues, where land and labor are in short supply.
Across the state, school districts are improvising amid a national shortage of bus drivers. The issue isn’t new, but has worsened substantially over the past few months. Factors for this include COVID-19 and a decrease in immigration.
According to a survey taken earlier this year from the American Public Transportation Association, 71% of transit agencies reported cuts or delays of service.
Districts have reached out to multiple charter bus companies for help, but most are booked. In order to combat the recent deficits, these districts have raised the pay rates up to $12 for trainees. However, new federal training requirements for bus drivers are regarded as excessive, making it too hard for employees to hire.
The U.S. Department of Transportation sets baseline requirements for entry-level drivers. A new training requirement was put in place in February, requiring drivers to take a class before taking the CDL test for a permit. Those classes must be taken through an entity approved by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration. It can take up to three weeks, costing hundreds of dollars.
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To be sure this is a concern in east Texas and other spots in Texas. That said, LEGAL immigration, if properly handled and processed, would be and should be enough to train some skilled and interested recent legal immigrants. As for the numerous undocumented people who crossed over, well, some of them are genuinely seeking a better life, while others are not what our society needs in that they have various motivations, some decent and others nefarious. Lastly, there may even be among them some future, young student-athletes who’ll make some contributions both to society and to the sport of football.