Bus Drivers

Summary

Most bus drivers are school bus drivers.

Quick Facts: Bus Drivers
2010 Median Pay	$29,160 per year $14.02 per hour
Entry-Level Education	High school diploma or equivalent
Work Experience in a Related Occupation	None
On-the-job Training	Moderate-term on-the-job training
Number of Jobs, 2010	647,200
Job Outlook, 2010-20	13% (About as fast as average)
Employment Change, 2010-20	83,000

What Bus Drivers Do

Bus drivers transport people between a variety of places including work, school, shopping, and across state borders. Some drive regular routes, and others transport passengers on chartered trips or sightseeing tours.

Work Environment

Driving through heavy traffic or dealing with unruly passengers can be stressful for bus drivers. About 54 percent of all bus drivers worked full time in 2010, and 39 percent worked part time. The rest had variable schedules.

How to Become a Bus Driver

Bus drivers must have a commercial driver’s license (CDL) and complete a short training. A driver must also meet hearing and vision requirements.

Pay

The median annual wage of transit and intercity bus drivers was $35,520 in May 2010. The median annual wage for school or special client bus drivers was $27,580 in May 2010.

Job Outlook

Employment of bus drivers is projected to grow 13 percent from 2010 to 2020, about as fast as the average for all occupations. Job opportunities should be favorable, especially for school bus drivers as school enrollment grows.

Similar Occupations

Compare the job duties, education, job growth, and pay of bus drivers with similar occupations.

O*NET

O*NET provides comprehensive information on key characteristics of workers and occupations.

Contacts for More Information

Learn more about bus drivers by contacting these additional resources.

What Bus Drivers Do About this section

Intercity buses are growing in popularity.

Bus drivers transport people between a variety of places including, work, school, shopping and across state borders. Some drive regular routes, and others transport passengers on chartered trips or sightseeing tours. They drive a range of vehicles, from 15-passenger buses to 60-foot articulated buses (with two connected sections) that can carry more than 100 passengers.

Duties

Bus drivers typically do the following:

• Check the bus tires, lights, and oil and do other basic maintenance
• Pick up and drop off passengers at designated locations
• Follow a planned route on a time schedule
• Help disabled passengers get on and off the bus
• Follow traffic laws and state and federal transit regulations
• Follow safety procedures to make sure they and all passengers are safe
• Keep passengers informed of possible delays

The following are examples of types of bus drivers.

Local transit bus drivers follow a daily schedule while transporting people on regular routes along the same city or suburban streets. They usually stop frequently, often only a few blocks apart and when a passenger requests a stop. Local transit drivers typically do the following:

• Collect bus fares, sometimes making change for passengers
• Answer questions about schedules, routes, and transfer points
• Report accidents or other traffic disruptions to a central dispatcher, and follow directions when using an alternate route

Intercity bus drivers transport passengers between cities or towns, sometimes crossing state lines. They may travel between distant cities or between towns only a few miles apart. They usually pick up and drop off passengers at bus stations, where passengers buy tickets. Increasingly, intercity buses are using curbside locations in downtown urban areas instead of stations. Intercity drivers typically do the following:

• Ensure all passengers have a valid ticket to ride the bus
• May sell tickets to passengers when there are unsold seats available
• Follow a central dispatcher’s instruction when taking an alternate route
• Help passengers load or unload baggage

Motor coach drivers transport passengers on charted trips or sightseeing tours. Their schedule and route are generally arranged by a trip planner for the convenience of the passengers, who often are on vacation. Motor coach drivers are usually away for long periods of time because they usually stay with vacationers for the length of the trip. Motor coach drivers typically do the following:

• Listen to and sometimes address passenger complaints
• Ensure the tour stays on schedule
• Sometimes act as tour guides for passengers
• Help passengers load or unload baggage
• Account for all passengers before leaving a location

School bus drivers transport students to and from school and other activities. On school days, drivers pick up students in the morning and return them home or to the designated bus stop in the afternoon. School bus drivers also drive students to field trips, sporting events, and other activities. Some drivers work at school in other occupations, such as janitors, cafeteria workers, or mechanics, between morning and afternoon trips. School bus drivers typically do the following:

• Watch traffic and people carefully to ensure the safety of children getting on and off the bus
• Take care of the needs of children with disabilities
• Keep order and safety on the school bus
• Understand and enforce the school system’s rules regarding student conduct
• Report disciplinary problems to the school district or parents

Work Environment About this section

Most school bus drivers work for school districts.

Driving through heavy traffic or bad weather and dealing with unruly passengers can be stressful for bus drivers. Bus drivers held 647,200 jobs in 2010, and of those, about 70 percent were school or special client bus drivers.

As the following table shows, most transit or intercity bus drivers worked for local governments or urban transit systems, which are private companies that contract with a city or town to provide bus service. Most motor coach drivers worked in the charter bus industry.

School or special client bus drivers are usually employed by a school district or private transportation company that contracts with a district to provide bus service. As the following table shows, some school bus service is provided by a local government. 

Injuries

Bus drivers, especially transit and intercity drivers, had a higher rate of work related injury and illness in 2010 than the national average. Most injuries to bus drivers are due to highway accidents.

Work Schedules

About 54 percent of all bus drivers worked full time in 2010, and 39 percent worked part time. The rest had variable schedules. School bus drivers work only when school is in session. Some make multiple runs if different schools in their district open and close at different times. Others make only two runs, one in the morning and one in the afternoon, limiting their hours.

Transit drivers may work weekends, late nights, and early mornings. Some intercity bus drivers have long-distant routes, so they spend some nights away. Other intercity bus drivers make a round trip and go home at the end of each shift.

Motor coach drivers travel with their vacationing passengers. Their hours are dictated by a tour schedule, and they may work all hours of the day, including weekends and holidays.

How to Become a Bus Driver About this section

All types of bus drivers have to obtain a CDL.

Bus drivers must have a commercial driver’s license (CDL) and complete a short training. A driver must also meet hearing and vision requirements. In addition, they often need a high school diploma or the equivalent.

Training

Bus drivers typically go through 1 to 3 months of training. Part of the training is spent on a driving course, where drivers practice various maneuvers with a bus. They then begin to drive in light traffic and eventually make practice runs on the type of route that they expect to drive. New drivers make regularly scheduled trips with passengers, accompanied by an experienced driver who gives helpful tips, answers questions, and evaluates the new driver's performance.

Some drivers’ training is also spent in the classroom. They learn their company’s rules and regulations, state and municipal traffic laws, and safe driving practices. Drivers also learn about schedules and bus routes, fares, and how to interact with passengers.

Licenses

All bus drivers must have a commercial driver’s license (CDL). The qualifications for getting one vary by state but generally include passing both knowledge and driving tests. States have the right not to issue a license to someone who has had a CDL suspended by another state.

Drivers can get endorsements to a CDL, which reflect their ability to drive a special type of vehicle. All bus drivers must have a passenger (P) endorsement, and school bus drivers must also have a school bus (S) endorsement. Getting the P and S endorsements requires additional knowledge and driving tests administered by a certified examiner.

Many states require all bus drivers to be 18 years of age or older and those who cross state lines to be at least 21 years old.

Federal regulations require testing bus drivers for drug or alcohol abuse and random testing while on duty. In addition, bus drivers can have their CDL suspended if they are convicted of a felony involving the use of a motor vehicle or driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs. Other actions also can result in a suspension after multiple violations. A list of violations is available from the U.S. Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration.

Education

Some employers prefer drivers to have a high school diploma or equivalent.

Advancement

Opportunities for promotion are generally limited, but experienced drivers may become supervisors or dispatchers. Some veteran bus drivers become instructors of new bus drivers.

Important Qualities

Customer-service skills. Bus drivers regularly interact with passengers and must be courteous and helpful.

Hand-eye coordination. Driving a bus requires the controlled use of multiple limbs based on what a person observes. Federal regulations require drivers to have normal use of their arms and legs.

Hearing ability. Bus drivers need good hearing. Federal regulations require the ability to hear a forced whisper in one ear at five feet (with or without the use of a hearing aid).

Patience. Due to possible traffic congestion and sometimes unruly passengers, bus drivers are put in stressful situations and must be able to continue to calmly operate their bus.

Physical health. Federal regulations do not allow people to become bus drivers if they have a medical condition that may interfere with their operation of a bus, such as high blood pressure or epilepsy. A full list of medical reasons that keep someone from becoming a licensed bus driver is available from the U.S. Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration.

Visual ability. Bus drivers must be able to pass vision tests. Federal regulations require at least 20/40 vision with a 70 degree field of vision in each eye and the ability to distinguish colors on a traffic light.

Pay About this section

The median annual wage of transit and intercity bus drivers, which includes motor coach drivers, was $35,520 in May 2010. The median wage is the wage at which half the workers in an occupation earned more than that amount and half earned less. The lowest 10 percent earned less than $21,020, and the top 10 percent earned more than $56,500. The median annual wage of school or special client bus drivers was $27,580 in May 2010. The lowest 10 percent earned less than $16,930, and the top 10 percent earned more than $42,690.

Earnings for transit and intercity bus drivers vary by industry. The median annual wages for transit and intercity bus drivers in the top-employing industries are as follows:

The median annual wages for school or special client bus drivers in the top-employing industries are as follows:  

About 54 percent of all bus drivers worked full time in 2010, and 39 percent worked part time. The rest had variable schedules. School bus drivers work only when school is in session. Some make multiple runs if different schools in their district open and close at different times. Others make only two runs, one in the morning and one in the afternoon, limiting their hours.

Transit drivers may work weekends, late nights, and early mornings. Some intercity bus drivers have long-distant routes, so they spend some nights away. Other intercity bus drivers make a round trip and go home at the end of each shift.

Motor coach drivers travel with their vacationing passengers. Their hours are dictated by a tour schedule, and they may work all hours of the day, including weekends and holidays.

Job Outlook About this section

Employment of bus drivers is projected to grow 13 percent from 2010 to 2020, about as fast as the average for all occupations.

Employment of transit and intercity drivers (including motor coach) is expected to grow 15 percent. Demand for buses is expected to remain relatively flat over the next decade. An increase in gas prices could lead more people to choose the bus; however, trains are often preferred when available. Employment in the charter bus industry is expected to continue to decline, limiting opportunities for motor coach drivers.

Recently, intercity bus travel has grown rapidly. Although it is expected to continue to grow, intercity bus service is still a relatively small part of bus travel and is unlikely to create many new jobs.

For local transit, a new type of bus service has gotten a lot of attention lately: bus rapid transit (BRT). BRT creates routes in cities where buses can travel quickly with only a few stops. Because it is less expensive than light rail, some cities are considering BRT lines instead of rail lines, which would create more jobs for bus drivers.

Employment of school or special client bus drivers is expected to grow 12 percent, largely due to an increase in the number of school age children. However, growth will be tempered as budget limitations lead school districts to focus on increasing efficiency. They do this by using computer programs to determine more efficient bus routes, allowing some routes (and drivers) to be cut.

Job Prospects

Job opportunities for bus drivers should be favorable, especially for school bus drivers, as many drivers leave the occupation. Those willing to work part time or irregular shifts should have the best prospects. Prospects for motor coach drivers will depend on tourism, which fluctuates with the economy.

Contacts for More Information About this section

For more information about school bus drivers, visit

National School Transportation Association

National Association of State Directors of Pupil Transportation Services

For more information about transit bus drivers, visit

American Public Transportation Association

For more information about motor coach drivers, visit

United Motor Coach Association

For more information on federal regulations for commercial vehicle drivers, visit

Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration