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Nearly 500 students in the Yonkers School District will be impacted by the national bus driver shortage when they return to school for the first day on Friday, Sept. 3.
School officials said that the district was notified on Friday, Aug. 27 that there were not enough bus drivers to cover all routes, noting that there is a nationwide school bus driver shortage.
With short notice, the district was forced to issue an announcement to parents on Wednesday, Sept. 1, two days before the start of classes, as they scrambled to cover bus routes.
In total, the Yonkers School District is responsible for transporting 11,300 students on 464 yellow buses and vans.
Parents of students who will be impacted by the bus shortage are expected to be notified by district officials on Thursday, Sept. 2.
"A shortage of licensed bus drivers makes it impossible for the District’s seven vendors to provide the additional routes needed to transport 474 new students to school," a spokesperson for the school district said. "This number increases daily with new enrollments. Urban school districts throughout the country are facing the same challenge."
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