(Selbyville, Del.) - The national bus driver shortage is hitting home right here in Sussex County. The Indian River School District is asking people to help and become bus drivers.
"We are in need of more bus drivers and we are looking so our kids can attend that activity without any interruption." Said Tyler Bryan, Head of Transportation at IRSD.
Bryan has been filling the empty seats when needed, this morning he found himself behind the wheel of a bus again.
"Our most important thing is getting our kids to school safely. So if that means it requires me to go out and get what needs to be done." Said Bryan.
According to school bus fleet magazine, the country has a shortage of school bus drivers and 22 percent of private bus contractors call it "severe".
Co-owner Keith Johnson of Johnson transportation says there are two reasons for National bus driver shortage."There are two folds to this problem one is a progressive income that provides for the needs of the drivers. The second is the component of the difficulty of becoming licensed." said Johnson.
The Department of Education's school transportation official says the process of becoming a school bus driver from beginning to end takes about 2 months. Johnson says the process needs to be fixed.
"One dilemma is the process of getting the drivers certified in a timely manner and on the road to drive our students," said Johnson.
If you would like to apply to become a school bus driver, you can go to the Indian River School District website for further information.