DAVIE, Fla. – South Florida school bus drivers are getting ready to roll out once again for the start of the new year.
On Thursday in Broward County, officials carried out dry runs for the drivers to practice their routes.
Sharae Blackshure is one of 800 bus drivers throughout Broward County who participated in the warmup.
“We’re going to have a lot of fun this year,” said Blackshure. “Today is about pre-tripping, learning our routes.”
Broward students are picked up along 765 routes starting as early as 5 a.m.
Blackshure said this year she has mostly the same route as last year, with a handful of new faces added in.
“I can’t wait to see their faces on Monday,” she said.
Thursday was about more than just checking routes, but also the buses themselves. Everything from the stop signs on the sides to what’s under the hood.
“We make sure that the batteries are good so if we need to jump today, we can get a jump today,” said Blackshure. “Make sure the bolts and everything on the tires are good. Make sure the lights are great. The bus can’t go out of the lot if something is wrong with the bus.”
Simone Clowers, with BCPS transportation, said the district has 1,200 buses and 60 of them are electric.
“We’ve been preparing all week and getting ready for our babies to report back to school,” said Clowers.
She has recommendations for parents on the first day.
“We recommend all parents be at the stop 10 minutes before the bus time,” she said. “We recommend that they are with their child at the stop for security reasons so they can know where the child is and the child can be secure. We also recommend that they be on the sidewalk not in the road, and wait until the bus comes to a complete stop before trying to get on it.”
Clowers said the district is fully staffed, but is still hiring more drivers.
“We need about 80 drivers to be comfortable with route substitutions and any callouts,” she said.
Similar preparations are underway in Miami-Dade County as well.
Miami-Dade County Public Schools’ Director for Transportation James Hicks said they too are hiring to account for emergencies, retirements, and reduce the number of drivers with double routes.
“We’re in a better position this year than last year, but we’re always looking,” he said.
ADDITIONAL LINKS
Broward school bus driver jobs