Fact Check: School bus driver pay rates
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ROCHESTER, N.Y. (WHEC) — School districts across our area are still looking for bus drivers. Some claim the pay just isn’t good enough to fill the positions. Is that true? We’ll let you be the judge!
Let’s take a look at the numbers.
Monroe School Transportation (also known as National Express) is a big company that provides school bus drivers for districts around town. Its starting rate for bus drivers is $20.20 an hour. The starting rate for minivan drivers is $17.50 an hour. There’s also a sign-on bonus for up to $3,000. Drivers with tenure are making up to nearly $29 an hour.
Click here to apply with Monroe School Transportation.
What about districts with their own bus drivers? With stimulus adjustments, school bus drivers in Pittsford make $21 an hour with just one year of experience with a cap for drivers with at least 15-years experience at $26.60 an hour.
[News10NBC]
Here’s the pay scale:
| Years of Experience | 2021-22 Starting Hourly Rate | Stimulus Adjustment | Full Starting Hourly Rate |
| 1 | $16.23 | $4.77 | $21.00 |
| 2 | $16.58 | $5.00 | $21.58 |
| 3 | $16.93 | $5.00 | $21.93 |
| 4 | $17.28 | $5.00 | $22.28 |
| 5 | $17.63 | $5.00 | $22.63 |
| 6 | $17.99 | $5.00 | $22.99 |
| 7 | $18.36 | $5.00 | $23.36 |
| 8 | $18.74 | $5.00 | $23.74 |
| 9 | $19.12 | $5.00 | $24.12 |
| 10 | $19.51 | $5.00 | $24.51 |
| 11 | $19.91 | $5.00 | $24.91 |
| 12 | $20.32 | $5.00 | $25.32 |
| 13 | $20.74 | $5.00 | $25.74 |
| 14 | $21.16 | $5.00 | $26.16 |
| 15 | $21.60 | $5.00 | $26.60 |
Click here to apply to PCSD.
Bus drivers for Victor schools start at $16.14 per hour plus benefits.
Click here for job openings at VCSD.
In Geneseo, school bus drivers are paid by the number of runs they do and their level of experience. For new drivers with up to two years doing the job, they’re paid $34.62 per run which averages out to about $23 an hour.
Here’s a breakdown:
- Step 1, new drivers up to 2 years of experience, is $34.62 per run (morning and afternoon).
- Step 2, drivers with 3 – 6 years of experience, is $38.67 per run (morning and afternoon).
- Step 3, drivers with 7 – 9 years of experience, is $41.36 per run (morning and afternoon).
- Step 4, drivers with 10 or more years of experience, is $43.28 per run (morning and afternoon).
Their runs are about 1.5 hours per run. So here is the approximate hourly rate:
- Step 1 – $23.08/hour.
- Step 2 – $25.78/hour.
- Step 3 – $27.57/hour.
- Step 4 – $28.85/hour.
Click here to apply to Geneseo CSD.
What about the pay at First Student? It provides bus drivers for local districts including Rochester City Schools. According to its job posting online, it’s offering $20 an hour for new drivers and up to $23.57 for experienced drivers. There’s a $3,000 sign-on bonus for fully credentialed drivers, $1,500 for new drivers. First Student also offers paid training.
Click here to apply to First Student.
The highest starting wage we found is for bus drivers for Greece Central Schools. They get $22 an hour to start. The district also pays for people interested in becoming bus drivers. That pay is $15.75 an hour while training.
Click here to apply to Greece CSD.