To qualify for a commercial driver's license, applicants must pass a written test on rules and regulations and then demonstrate they can operate a bus safely. A national data bank permanently records all driving violations incurred by people who hold commercial licenses. A state may not issue a commercial driver's license to a driver who already has a license suspended or revoked in another state. Trainees must be accompanied by a driver with a CDL until they get their own CDL. Information on how to apply for a commercial driver's license may be obtained from state motor vehicle administrations.
While many states allow those who are eighteen years and older to drive buses within state borders, the U.S. Department of Transportation establishes minimum qualifications for bus drivers engaged in interstate commerce. Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations require that drivers must be at least twenty-one years old and pass a physical examination once every two years. The main physical requirements include good hearing, 20/40 vision with or without glasses or corrective lenses, and a seventy-degree field of vision in each eye. Drivers must not be color blind. Drivers must be able to hear a forced whisper in one ear at not less than five feet, with or without a hearing aid. Drivers must have normal use of arms and legs and normal blood pressure. Drivers may not use any controlled substances, unless prescribed by a licensed physician. People with epilepsy or diabetes controlled by insulin are not permitted to be interstate bus drivers. Federal regulations also require employers to test their drivers for alcohol and drug use as a condition of employment, and require periodic random tests while on duty. In addition, a driver must not have been convicted of a felony involving the use of a motor vehicle, a crime involving drugs, driving under the influence of drugs or alcohol or hit-and-run driving that resulted in injury or death. All drivers must be able to read and speak English well enough to read road signs, prepare reports, and communicate with law enforcement officers and the public. In addition, drivers must take a written examination on the Motor Carrier Safety Regulations of the U.S. Department of Transportation.
Many employers prefer high school graduates and require a written test of ability to follow complex bus schedules. Many intercity and public transit bus companies prefer applicants who are at least twenty-four years of age some require several years of bus- or truck-driving experience. In some states, school bus drivers must pass a background investigation to uncover any criminal record or history of mental problems.
Because bus drivers deal with passengers, they must be courteous. They need an even temperament and emotional stability because driving in heavy, fast-moving, or stop-and-go traffic and dealing with passengers can be stressful. Drivers must have strong communication skills and be able to coordinate and manage large groups of people.
Most intercity bus companies and local transit systems give driver trainees two to eight weeks of classroom and "behind-the-wheel" instruction. In the classroom, trainees learn U.S. Department of Transportation and company work rules, safety regulations, state and municipal driving regulations, and safe driving practices. They also learn to read schedules, determine fares, keep records, and deal with passengers courteously.
School bus drivers are also required to obtain a commercial driver's license from the state in which they live. Many people who enter school bus driving have never driven any vehicle larger than an automobile. They receive between one and four weeks of driving instruction, plus classroom training on state and local laws, regulations, and policies of operating school buses, safe driving practices, driver-pupil relations, first aid, disabled student special needs and emergency evacuation procedures. School bus drivers must also be aware of school systems' rules for discipline and conduct for bus drivers and the students they transport.
During training, bus drivers practice driving on set courses. They practice turns and zigzag maneuvers, backing up, and driving in narrow lanes. Then they drive in light traffic and, eventually, on congested highways and city streets. They also make trial runs, without passengers, to improve their driving skills and learn the routes. Local transit trainees memorize and drive each of the runs operating out of their assigned garage. New drivers begin with a "break-in" period. They make regularly scheduled trips with passengers, accompanied by an experienced driver who gives helpful tips, answers questions, and evaluates the new driver's performance.
New intercity and local transit drivers are usually placed on an "extra" list to drive charter runs, extra buses on regular runs, and special runs (for example, during morning and evening rush hours and to sports events). They also substitute for regular drivers who are ill or on vacation. New drivers remain on the extra list, and may work only part-time, perhaps for several years, until they have enough seniority to receive a regular run.
Senior drivers may bid for runs they prefer, such as those with more work hours, lighter traffic, weekends off, or, in the case of intercity bus drivers, higher earnings or fewer workdays per week.
Opportunities for promotion are generally limited. However, experienced drivers may become supervisors or dispatchers, assigning buses to drivers, checking whether drivers are on schedule, rerouting buses to avoid blocked streets or other problems, and dispatching extra vehicles and service crews to scenes of accidents and breakdowns.
In transit agencies with rail systems, drivers may become train operators or station attendants. A few drivers become managers. Promotion in publicly owned bus systems is often by competitive civil service examination.
Some motor coach drivers purchase their own equipment and go into business for themselves.
JOB OUTLOOK
Bus drivers hold about 592,000 jobs nationwide. More than a third work part-time. Nearly three out of four drivers work for school systems or companies providing school bus services under contract. Most of the remainder work for private and local government transit systems; some also work for intercity and charter bus lines.
People seeking jobs as bus drivers over the 1996-2006 periods should encounter good opportunities. Many employers are having difficulty finding qualified candidates to fill vacancies left by departing employees. Opportunities should be best for individuals with good driving records who are willing to start on a part-time or irregular schedule, as well as for those seeking jobs as school bus drivers in metropolitan areas that are growing rapidly. Those seeking higher-paying intercity and public transit bus driver positions may encounter competition.
Employment of bus drivers is expected to increase about as fast as average for all occupations through 2006, primarily to meet the transportation needs of a growing school-age population. Thousands of additional job openings are expected to occur each year because of the need to replace workers who take jobs in other occupations, retire, or leave the occupation for other reasons.
School bus driving jobs should be easiest to acquire because most of these positions are part-time and often have a high turnover rate. The number of school bus drivers is expected to increase as a result of growth in elementary and secondary school enrollments. In addition, as more of the nation's population is concentrated in suburban areas where students generally ride school buses and less in the central cities where transportation is not provided for most pupils more school bus drivers will be needed.
Employment of local transit and intercity drivers will grow as bus ridership increases. Local and intercity bus travel is expected to increase as the population and labor force grow and incomes rise, but more individual travelers will opt to travel by airplane or automobile rather than by bus. Most growth in intercity drivers will probably be in group charter travel, rather than scheduled intercity bus services. There may continue to be competition for local transit and intercity bus driver jobs in some areas because many of these positions offer relatively high wages and attractive benefits.
Hours of part-time local transit and intercity bus drivers may be reduced if bus ridership decreases, because fewer extra buses would be needed. Many intercity bus drivers with little seniority, for example, are furloughed during the winter when regular schedule and charter business falls off school bus drivers seldom work during the summer or school holidays.
