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0% 6% 12% 18% 24% 30%

$15.1

$15.2

$15.3

$15.4

$15.5

$15.6

22 SCHOOL BUS FLEET JULY 2016 WWW.SCHOOLBUSFLEET.COM

The average starting wage for contractors’ school bus driversincreases 42 cents to $15.57 per hour. Boosting pay is just one of

myriad steps being taken to recruit and retain drivers.By Thomas McMahon, Executive Editor

Pay Rises as Contractors Deal With Driver Shortage

CO N T R ACTO R S U RV E Y

Slight increase in driver pay

Our annual survey found that contractors’ average start-ing pay for school bus drivers decreased in the previous two years, but this year it increased 42 cents to $15.57 per hour. As shown in the next chart, 15% of respon-dents said that they have raised driver pay in an effort to mitigate driver shortage.

Driv

er p

ay/h

our

Year2013 2014 2015 2016

How are you dealing with driver shortage?

Contractors were asked what steps they are taking to mitigate driver shortage. The most common answer, at 29% of respondents, was advertising — billboards, newspaper, TV, radio, etc. About a fourth (24%) are offer-ing signing and/or referral bonuses. “Other” responses included paid training, having other employees drive, hiring a full-time recruiter, and using social media.

% o

f res

pond

ents

Advertising

Signing/referral bonuses

Pay increase

Word of mouth

Job fairs

Boosting morale

More/guaranteed hours

Other

29%

24%

15%

9%

7%

6%

4%

25%

$15.15

$15.41

$15.60$15.57

1-866-693-7492 | www.247securityinc.comProudly Designed & Manufactured in the USA & Canada

Never worry about your video system’s health again

VIDEO System Health is AutomaticallyReported to your desktop/mobile device.

Diagnose & Troubleshoot issues BEFOREyour vehicles get on the road.

Never Worry about your VIDEO System’s Health again!

D V R A U T O H E A LT HC H E C K

DVR Auto-Health Check is available exclusively with TouchDown™ by 247Security Inc.To Learn more, please visit www.247securityinc.com/TD

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Untitled-6 1 5/31/16 2:53 PM

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CO N T R ACTO R S U RV E Y

The survey results suggest that some contractors have made headway in dealing with driver shortage. Last year, only 6% of respondents had no driver shortage, compared to 11% this year. Still, nearly a third (31%) have a severe or desperate shortage. The categories are defined as: none (0% short of drivers), mild (1-5% short), moderate (6-10% short), severe (11-15% short), desperate (at least 16% short).

For about three-fourths (74%) of the contractors surveyed, none of their school bus drivers belong to a labor union.

Still widespread driver shortages

Drivers unionized?

74% None

12%SomeAll 14%

None

11%Mild

26%

Severe

23%Moderate

32%

Desperate

8%

©2015 Hankook Tire America Corp.

417272_v1.indd 1 2/18/15 10:14 AM

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26 SCHOOL BUS FLEET JULY 2016 WWW.SCHOOLBUSFLEET.COM

CO N T R ACTO R S U RV E Y

Close to three-fourths (71%) of the contractors surveyed are buying new school buses for the 2016-17 school year. That’s down from 82% last year.

% o

f res

pond

ents

Fuel type

Diesel Gasoline Propane CNG Electric

90% 36% 15% 3% 2%

Among respondents who are buying new school buses for the next school year, nearly all (90%) are buying some or all diesels. Some of the contractors are ac-quiring buses of more than one fuel type.

Buying new buses?

Which fuel-type buses are you buying?

71% Yes

No 29%

0%

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60%

80%

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27JULY 2016 SCHOOL BUS FLEET

Mgr

. pay

/yea

r

Year

Other than a slight dip this year, the average terminal manager salary for school bus contractors has been rising in recent years, our survey has found.

% o

f res

pond

ents

School buses

21% 19% 18% 26% 16%

1-24 25-49 50-99 100-299 300+

Respondents represent a variety of fleet sizes. For this survey, a questionnaire was emailed to managers and executives at school bus contracting companies. We received 190 usable responses.

Manager salary trends upward

School bus fleet sizes

2012 2013 2014 2015 2016

$45,422

$45,637

$48,562

$54,500

$53,774

0%

6%

12%

18%

24%

30%