Bus Drivers, School
53-3051.00
Updated 2025

Drive a school bus to transport students. Ensure adherence to safety rules. May assist students in boarding or exiting.

Sample of reported job titles: Bus Drive Coordinator, Bus Driver, CDL Bus Driver (Commercial Driver's License Bus Driver), Public School Bus Driver, School Bus Driver, School Van Driver, Shuttle Bus Driver, SPED Bus Driver (Special Education Bus Driver), SPED School Bus Driver (Special Education School Bus Driver), Student Driver

Occupation-Specific Information

Tasks

  • Comply with traffic regulations to operate vehicles in a safe and courteous manner.
  • Follow safety rules as students board and exit buses or cross streets near bus stops.
  • Check the condition of a vehicle's tires, brakes, windshield wipers, lights, oil, fuel, water, and safety equipment to ensure that everything is in working order.
  • Report any bus malfunctions or needed repairs.
  • Pick up and drop off students at regularly scheduled neighborhood locations, following strict time schedules.
  • Drive gasoline, diesel, or electrically powered multi-passenger vehicles to transport students between neighborhoods, schools, and school activities.
  • Maintain order among students during trips to ensure safety.
  • Prepare and submit reports that may include the number of students or trips, hours worked, mileage, or fuel consumption.
  • Maintain knowledge of first-aid procedures.
  • Record bus routes.
  • Report delays, accidents, or other traffic and transportation situations, using telephones or mobile two-way radios.
  • Keep bus interiors clean for students.
  • Read maps and follow written and verbal geographic directions.
  • Regulate heating, lighting, and ventilation systems for student comfort.
  • Report delinquent student behaviors to school administration.
  • Escort small children across roads and highways.
  • Make minor repairs to vehicles.
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Technology Skills

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Occupational Requirements

Work Activities

  • Inspecting Equipment, Structures, or Materials — Inspecting equipment, structures, or materials to identify the cause of errors or other problems or defects.
  • Operating Vehicles, Mechanized Devices, or Equipment — Running, maneuvering, navigating, or driving vehicles or mechanized equipment, such as forklifts, passenger vehicles, aircraft, or watercraft.
  • Identifying Objects, Actions, and Events — Identifying information by categorizing, estimating, recognizing differences or similarities, and detecting changes in circumstances or events.
  • Monitoring Processes, Materials, or Surroundings — Monitoring and reviewing information from materials, events, or the environment, to detect or assess problems.
  • Getting Information — Observing, receiving, and otherwise obtaining information from all relevant sources.
  • Making Decisions and Solving Problems — Analyzing information and evaluating results to choose the best solution and solve problems.
  • Assisting and Caring for Others — Providing personal assistance, medical attention, emotional support, or other personal care to others such as coworkers, customers, or patients.
  • Communicating with Supervisors, Peers, or Subordinates — Providing information to supervisors, co-workers, and subordinates by telephone, in written form, e-mail, or in person.
  • Documenting/Recording Information — Entering, transcribing, recording, storing, or maintaining information in written or electronic/magnetic form.
  • Establishing and Maintaining Interpersonal Relationships — Developing constructive and cooperative working relationships with others, and maintaining them over time.
  • Evaluating Information to Determine Compliance with Standards — Using relevant information and individual judgment to determine whether events or processes comply with laws, regulations, or standards.
  • Scheduling Work and Activities — Scheduling events, programs, and activities, as well as the work of others.
  • Estimating the Quantifiable Characteristics of Products, Events, or Information — Estimating sizes, distances, and quantities; or determining time, costs, resources, or materials needed to perform a work activity.
  • Resolving Conflicts and Negotiating with Others — Handling complaints, settling disputes, and resolving grievances and conflicts, or otherwise negotiating with others.
  • Updating and Using Relevant Knowledge — Keeping up-to-date technically and applying new knowledge to your job.
  • Judging the Qualities of Objects, Services, or People — Assessing the value, importance, or quality of things or people.
  • Organizing, Planning, and Prioritizing Work — Developing specific goals and plans to prioritize, organize, and accomplish your work.

Detailed Work Activities

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Work Context

  • In an Enclosed Vehicle or Operate Enclosed Equipment — 96% responded “Every day.”
  • Frequency of Decision Making — 78% responded “Every day.”
  • Spend Time Using Your Hands to Handle, Control, or Feel Objects, Tools, or Controls — 80% responded “Continually or almost continually.”
  • Contact With Others — 62% responded “Constant contact with others.”
  • Spend Time Sitting — 59% responded “Continually or almost continually.”
  • Face-to-Face Discussions with Individuals and Within Teams — 60% responded “Every day.”
  • Importance of Being Exact or Accurate — 50% responded “Extremely important.”
  • Freedom to Make Decisions — 44% responded “A lot of freedom.”
  • Physical Proximity — 67% responded “Moderately close (at arm's length).”
  • Outdoors, Exposed to All Weather Conditions — 69% responded “Every day.”
  • Exposed to Sounds, Noise Levels that are Distracting or Uncomfortable — 45% responded “Every day.”
  • Spend Time Making Repetitive Motions — 50% responded “Continually or almost continually.”
  • Time Pressure — 57% responded “Every day.”
  • Health and Safety of Other Workers — 44% responded “Very high responsibility.”
  • Consequence of Error — 54% responded “Extremely serious.”
  • Impact of Decisions on Co-workers or Company Results — 44% responded “Important results.”
  • Exposed to Very Hot or Cold Temperatures — 39% responded “Once a week or more but not every day.”
  • Work With or Contribute to a Work Group or Team — 28% responded “Extremely important.”
  • Deal With External Customers or the Public in General — 37% responded “Fairly important.”
  • Determine Tasks, Priorities and Goals — 40% responded “Limited freedom.”
  • Exposed to Contaminants — 41% responded “Never.”
  • Conflict Situations — 36% responded “Once a week or more but not every day.”

Experience Requirements

Job Zone

Title
Job Zone Two: Some Preparation Needed
Education
These occupations usually require a high school diploma.
Related Experience
Some previous work-related skill, knowledge, or experience is usually needed. For example, a teller would benefit from experience working directly with the public.
Job Training
Employees in these occupations need anywhere from a few months to one year of working with experienced employees. A recognized apprenticeship program may be associated with these occupations.
Job Zone Examples
These occupations often involve using your knowledge and skills to help others. Examples include orderlies, counter and rental clerks, customer service representatives, security guards, upholsterers, tellers, and dental laboratory technicians.
SVP Range
(4.0 to < 6.0)

Training & Credentials

State training
Local training
Certifications
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State licenses

Apprenticeship Opportunities

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Worker Requirements

Skills

  • Active Listening — Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times.
  • Critical Thinking — Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions, or approaches to problems.
  • Monitoring — Monitoring/Assessing performance of yourself, other individuals, or organizations to make improvements or take corrective action.
  • Social Perceptiveness — Being aware of others' reactions and understanding why they react as they do.
  • Operations Monitoring — Watching gauges, dials, or other indicators to make sure a machine is working properly.
  • Speaking — Talking to others to convey information effectively.
  • Coordination — Adjusting actions in relation to others' actions.
  • Reading Comprehension — Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work-related documents.
  • Service Orientation — Actively looking for ways to help people.

Knowledge

  • Transportation — Knowledge of principles and methods for moving people or goods by air, rail, sea, or road, including the relative costs and benefits.
  • Customer and Personal Service — Knowledge of principles and processes for providing customer and personal services. This includes customer needs assessment, meeting quality standards for services, and evaluation of customer satisfaction.
  • Public Safety and Security — Knowledge of relevant equipment, policies, procedures, and strategies to promote effective local, state, or national security operations for the protection of people, data, property, and institutions.
  • English Language — Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, and rules of composition and grammar.
  • Mechanical — Knowledge of machines and tools, including their designs, uses, repair, and maintenance.
  • Law and Government — Knowledge of laws, legal codes, court procedures, precedents, government regulations, executive orders, agency rules, and the democratic political process.
  • Geography — Knowledge of principles and methods for describing the features of land, sea, and air masses, including their physical characteristics, locations, interrelationships, and distribution of plant, animal, and human life.

Education

How much education does a new hire need to perform a job in this occupation? Respondents said:

  • 59%
     
    High school diploma or equivalent required
  • 37%
     
    Less than high school diploma required
  • 3%
     
    Post-secondary certificate required

Worker Characteristics

Abilities

  • Far Vision — The ability to see details at a distance.
  • Near Vision — The ability to see details at close range (within a few feet of the observer).
  • Depth Perception — The ability to judge which of several objects is closer or farther away from you, or to judge the distance between you and an object.
  • Problem Sensitivity — The ability to tell when something is wrong or is likely to go wrong. It does not involve solving the problem, only recognizing that there is a problem.
  • Reaction Time — The ability to quickly respond (with the hand, finger, or foot) to a signal (sound, light, picture) when it appears.
  • Speech Recognition — The ability to identify and understand the speech of another person.
  • Control Precision — The ability to quickly and repeatedly adjust the controls of a machine or a vehicle to exact positions.
  • Multilimb Coordination — The ability to coordinate two or more limbs (for example, two arms, two legs, or one leg and one arm) while sitting, standing, or lying down. It does not involve performing the activities while the whole body is in motion.
  • Peripheral Vision — The ability to see objects or movement of objects to one's side when the eyes are looking ahead.
  • Auditory Attention — The ability to focus on a single source of sound in the presence of other distracting sounds.
  • Oral Comprehension — The ability to listen to and understand information and ideas presented through spoken words and sentences.
  • Spatial Orientation — The ability to know your location in relation to the environment or to know where other objects are in relation to you.
  • Speech Clarity — The ability to speak clearly so others can understand you.
  • Arm-Hand Steadiness — The ability to keep your hand and arm steady while moving your arm or while holding your arm and hand in one position.
  • Information Ordering — The ability to arrange things or actions in a certain order or pattern according to a specific rule or set of rules (e.g., patterns of numbers, letters, words, pictures, mathematical operations).
  • Oral Expression — The ability to communicate information and ideas in speaking so others will understand.
  • Rate Control — The ability to time your movements or the movement of a piece of equipment in anticipation of changes in the speed and/or direction of a moving object or scene.
  • Response Orientation — The ability to choose quickly between two or more movements in response to two or more different signals (lights, sounds, pictures). It includes the speed with which the correct response is started with the hand, foot, or other body part.
  • Selective Attention — The ability to concentrate on a task over a period of time without being distracted.
  • Time Sharing — The ability to shift back and forth between two or more activities or sources of information (such as speech, sounds, touch, or other sources).
  • Visual Color Discrimination — The ability to match or detect differences between colors, including shades of color and brightness.
  • Deductive Reasoning — The ability to apply general rules to specific problems to produce answers that make sense.

Interests

Interest code: RCS
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  • Realistic — Work involves designing, building, or repairing of equipment, materials, or structures, engaging in physical activity, or working outdoors. Realistic occupations are often associated with engineering, mechanics and electronics, construction, woodworking, transportation, machine operation, agriculture, animal services, physical or manual labor, athletics, or protective services.
  • Conventional — Work involves following procedures and regulations to organize information or data, typically in a business setting. Conventional occupations are often associated with office work, accounting, mathematics/statistics, information technology, finance, or human resources.
  • Social — Work involves helping, teaching, advising, assisting, or providing service to others. Social occupations are often associated with social, health care, personal service, teaching/education, or religious activities.

Work Styles

  • Cautiousness — A tendency to be careful, deliberate, and risk-avoidant when making work-related decisions or doing work.
  • Integrity — A tendency to be honest and ethical at work.
  • Attention to Detail — A tendency to be detail-oriented, organized, and thorough in completing work.
  • Dependability — A tendency to be reliable, responsible, and consistent in meeting work-related obligations.

Workforce Characteristics

Wages & Employment Trends

Median wages (2024)
$22.62 hourly, $47,040 annual
State wages
Local wages
Employment (2024)
387,300 employees
Projected growth (2024-2034)
Little or no change
Projected job openings (2024-2034)
61,000
State trends
Top industries (2024)

Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics 2024 wage data and 2024-2034 employment projections . “Projected growth” represents the estimated change in total employment over the projections period (2024-2034). “Projected job openings” represent openings due to growth and replacement.

Job Openings on the Web

State job openings
Local job openings

More Information

Professional Associations

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National Associations
Accreditation, Certification, & Unions