<body><div>ABILENE, Texas — A few weeks ago, Abilene ISD Superintendent, Dr. John Kuhn, posted on Facebook warning families about several bus drivers calling out sick, and that caused bus delays throughout the day. The district told KTXS News that they’re dealing with a bus driver shortage.AISD said they’ve been working since the summer to build up their bus driver roster, but despite the preparation, “life happens.”“There's a lot of life happening in our in our bus driver fleet where, you know, family things and sickness and, there is some opportunities in Abilene that compete with driving for us that you could drive elsewhere," said Dr. Joe Waldron, AISD's deputy superintendent. "All of that together equal all the preparation that we did in the summer...We've lost drivers, not necessarily out of any other circumstance that we can control.”<img src="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?type=thumbnail_580x000&amp;url=1l0Zen_16ezTUld00" alt="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=1l0Zen_16ezTUld00" width="986" height="555" >On an average day, the district has enough drivers if everyone shows up. However, when multiple people call out sick, have appointments, or deal with emergencies, other staff have to grab keys and jump behind the wheel.“People have things that come up that result in maybe a driver who normally works in the office having to leave the desk and get in the bus, or a driver that works in our mechanic shop having to put their tools down and get on a bus and drive," Waldron said. "Those things help us get through small hurdles.”However, when the shortage hits several drivers at once, AISD starts combining routes, delaying pickups, and sending out alerts through the app SmartTag.“It's like magic in the background. It's very simple," Waldron said. "It will tell you when the bus is a few minutes away. It will tell you when your student loaded the bus when they unloaded the bus.”<img src="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?type=thumbnail_580x000&amp;url=1J8KSs_16ezTUld00" alt="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=1J8KSs_16ezTUld00" width="986" height="555" >AISD has about 6,000 daily bus riders, but only about 1,200 families are signed up for the SmartTag app, something Waldron said would make delays much easier to manage."So imagine if you're that parent, the bus isn't here yet, but you haven't gotten the notification that they got off the bus, so you know they're still on the bus, right? So there's a little piece of mind, and you may be getting a notification soon that says your bus is 11 minutes away or seven minutes away," Waldron said. "That's super helpful for families.”<img src="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?type=thumbnail_580x000&amp;url=4QtxFP_16ezTUld00" alt="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=4QtxFP_16ezTUld00" width="986" height="555" >The district estimates it’s operating at about 85 to 90 percent of the drivers it needs, but they’re actively hiring.“We are equipped to help anybody who is a good applicant get through all the steps," Waldron said. "We can do the training. We can do the certifications. We'll get them through the pipeline. When they start, if they can't drive a yellow bus, there's an opportunity to drive smaller busses that don't require a CDL. That's a faster track to getting work done for us. All those opportunities exist in order to ensure that good applicants are put to work pretty quick.”If you’re interested in becoming an AISD bus driver, click here for a link to the application</div></body>

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ABILENE, Texas — A few weeks ago, Abilene ISD Superintendent, Dr. John Kuhn, posted on Facebook warning families about several bus drivers calling out sick, and that caused bus delays throughout the day. The district told KTXS News that they’re dealing with a bus driver shortage. AISD said...

Abilene ISD faces bus driver shortage, causing delays and route adjustments

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ABILENE, Texas — A few weeks ago, Abilene ISD Superintendent, Dr. John Kuhn, posted on Facebook warning families about several bus drivers calling out sick

Abilene ISD faces bus driver shortage, causing delays and route adjustments

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