Education

NC school districts face bus driver shortages. Here’s a look at the numbers.

About 14,000 school buses run each day in North Carolina.
About 14,000 school buses run each day in North Carolina. tlong@newsobserver.com

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When the bus doesn’t come

The driver shortage is causing students to miss school, teachers to stay late watching students and bus drivers to feel burned out from the additional routes they’re running. And the situation could get worse as more retire or switch to jobs with better hours and higher pay. This special report explores the critical impact on communities in the North Carolina Triangle and beyond.


Here are some numbers to know about the school bus driver shortage in the Triangle and state.

14,000

Number of school buses that run each day in North Carolina

1,342

Number of bus driver shortages in North Carolina at the start of the school year

267

Wake County driver vacancies reported in September

30.27%

Wake Country driver vacancy rate

120

Bus routes Wake County has cut over the past two years

43

Number of bus drivers Durham still needs this year

42

Number of additional bus drivers Durham will need next year

45%

Chapel Hill-Carrboro bus driver vacancy rate

This story was originally published January 25, 2023 at 6:00 AM with the headline "NC school districts face bus driver shortages. Here’s a look at the numbers.."

Jessaca Giglio
The News & Observer
Jessaca Giglio is a McClatchy Flex Editor and Pulitzer Prize Finalist who started at The N&O in 1994. Since then, she’s been planning and enterprise editor, breaking news editor, sports editor, assistant metro editor, retail columnist, small-business editor and assistant design editor. She is a graduate of Campbell University.
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When the bus doesn’t come

The driver shortage is causing students to miss school, teachers to stay late watching students and bus drivers to feel burned out from the additional routes they’re running. And the situation could get worse as more retire or switch to jobs with better hours and higher pay. This special report explores the critical impact on communities in the North Carolina Triangle and beyond.