Bus routes and schedules could change for some Alabama students as districts struggle to hire bus drivers in time for the fall semester.

Chad Carpenter, director of transportation for the Alabama State Department of Education, said the state has had a hard time recruiting bus drivers for years, but the problem tends to be concentrated in some districts more than others.

“It’s a perpetual issue, it just depends to what degree,” he said. “Some school systems you talk to, they’re OK with drivers right now. Some are in dire straits.”

Parents should check recent communications from their school about any changes to bus routes, pickup times or procedures. People interested in driving a bus can see job openings here, as well as at their local school board job site and contract firms.

The state doesn’t collect data on bus driver vacancies, but AL.com analysis found that several school districts – both big and small – still had open positions for bus drivers, aides and substitutes just days before classes are scheduled to start.

Huntsville City Schools, which started classes last week, were short about 30 bus drivers, despite multiple hiring events and job fairs, according to a district spokesman. Leaders plan to continue normal bus routes.

Mobile County School leaders told Fox 10 News in late July that they were over 100 drivers short and may need to consolidate routes.

Several districts in the Birmingham area are still struggling to fill spots, including some that contract with School Transportation Systems, a private bus company that provides transportation services for Birmingham City Schools, Tarrant City Schools, Magic City Acceptance Academy and others.

“We want to beat the need for the contract that we have,” STS Director Walter Turner told WVTM 13 in late July. “In order for us to pick up the kids, we have to get a driver behind those wheels. In order to make sure we do what we say we’re gonna do, the people we contract with, we need a person behind that wheel.”

As of last week, Hoover City Schools were short about seven to eight drivers. The district has increased pay by up to 50% for substitute drivers, offered more benefits, bought more air-conditioned buses and has even recruited coaches and teachers to take on routes.

“While we are encouraged by the response from our community to our plea for more bus drivers, we still may face staffing challenges at the start of the new school year if all vacancies are not filled with qualified candidates,” Hoover City Schools Transportation Director Jeremy Bradford told AL.com.

Bradford said bus routes and stops could change if they aren’t able to hire enough drivers in time. Transport times for middle and high schoolers could also change, he said. If that’s the case, schools will notify parents ahead of time.

In Shelby County, leaders are considering changing five bus routes near Chelsea and Oak Mountain, due to rezoning. As of last week, they were still short about 10 bus drivers, including four needed for routes to pick up children with disabilities, a spokeswoman told AL.com.

Smaller districts, like Dallas County and Pell City, said they were short a few drivers, but expected to fill those spots before the start of school. Auburn City, which was short about four drivers at the start of August, said they planned to employ substitute drivers to cover routes if they couldn’t fill those spots.

What solves driver shortages?

Bus driver shortages aren’t just an Alabama problem. Across the country, schools are cutting services because they can’t find enough people to drive vehicles.

Carpenter said the issue usually boils down to pay.

“When the economy is really good, drivers can get a job that pays substantially more money,” he said. “When the economy is poor, a lot of times, we see people who struggle to get jobs who will come drive a bus for a couple years until it gets better.”

Tuscaloosa City Schools is one district that offered hefty bonuses to new drivers this year. They’ll be starting this school year with more drivers than last year, enabling them to cut down on longer routes.

Officials said more than 60 people applied for positions this summer after the district offered $1,000 sign-on bonuses and advertised the positions heavily. As of early August, they were still working to fill about 10 spots, but had a handful of candidates lined up.

“We are in much better shape than last year as we still have other potential new drivers in training, and they could be hired within a week or two of the start of school,” Lydia Avant, a spokeswoman for the district, told AL.com. “We are not anticipating any issues with busing this year.”

Dothan City, which announced several open positions this summer, will start the school year with no vacancies. Leaders said they advertised heavily, including using a recruiting bus that they moved around town to advertise open positions.

Many states are struggling to get drivers certified, especially with new regulations from the federal government. But Carpenter said that’s not an issue in Alabama.

Just in the past couple of weeks, Carpenter’s staff at the state department has trained more than 100 new bus drivers, he said.

A new program with the Alabama Community College System, called “Skills for Success” has also helped get hundreds of drivers certified. To date, 115 school systems have used the free program to train more than 450 bus drivers, ACCS officials told AL.com.

Once trainees pass all required tests, they receive a Commercial Driver License (CDL), their Alabama School Bus Driver Certification and an ACCS Credential to demonstrate they are job-ready.

The training, which offers a 15-hour online course and behind-the-wheel instruction, has saved districts more than $500,000 in training costs, according to officials.

“The majority of our bus drivers across the state are outstanding people,” Carpenter said. “And there’s a lot of technology on these buses that make things a lot safer in some ways, but there’s nothing absolutely nothing we can put on the school bus to make it any safer than a well-trained, conscientious bus driver.”