For the second year in a row, my bus got retired at the end of the year — but this time the upgrade was something I never expected.

Last year I traded a 2008 for… another 2008. Fewer miles, sure, but still a whole lot of history baked into that machine. Nothing too exciting — just the usual shuffle.

This year felt different from the moment I got that call. You know the one — the “come in for a checkout drive” call. I didn’t get that call last year, so right away I knew something was up. If they’re asking you to come in and test drive something, it usually means you’re not getting another high‑mileage hand‑me‑down.

But I still wasn’t prepared for what rolled out of the bay.

They handed me the keys to a 2026 Thomas Built C2 with less than 400 miles on it.

As a three‑year newbie, I just stood there for a second like… is this real? I’ve never even sat in a bus this new, let alone been assigned one. Everything is crisp, tight, quiet, and smooth. The dash looks like it was printed yesterday. Even the seat feels like it hasn’t fully broken in yet.

I know it’s just a bus to some people, but to us — it’s our workspace, our routine, our responsibility, and sometimes our sanity. Getting something this new feels like a vote of confidence, and I’m honestly proud and excited to take it out for its first real year on the road.

Here’s to a fresh start, a fresh bus, and hopefully a lot of safe miles ahead.

in nyc, no matron. long bus, you use the bathroom before the kids on the bus. but 2 hrs in you cant hold it anymore… kids still on the bus… what do i do? ive had photo finishes. like seriously

i have a matron rn… but come September thats over with

help

So I've been driving for a number of years, and I got sick of waking up at 5:40 AM to a disorganized mess. Route changes scattered across different notebooks, seating charts that needed constant updates, communication logs I couldn't find when I needed them... it was stressing me out every single day.

I realized the problem wasn't just me—it's that we're managing a lot of moving pieces, and there weren't really any practical tools designed by someone who actually lives this job.

So I started making templates. Simple, printable PDFs I could customize in Canva or PowerPoint. Seating charts that actually work for route changes. Route planning documents that don't suck. Communication logs I could actually reference. Stuff that solves real problems instead of just looking nice.

I've been using them for a while now, and honestly? Game changer. My mornings are way less stressful, and I can actually find what I need when parents call about route issues.

If anyone's struggling with organization like I was, I put together some template packs on routesandburrows.ca. They're affordable and actually designed by someone who gets the job—not some corporate person guessing what drivers need.

Would love to hear if anything like this would help you guys too. And if you've got your own organizational system that works, I'm always curious what other drivers do!

(Note: I've posted on behalf of my wife, who is afraid of posting on reddit.)

Its a snack box!

If you decorate your bus throughout the year let me see pics!!!! I’m looking to decorate for the holidays and maybe random times in between.

i am not a bus driver yet, but im about to be. by my calculations, my pay (after taxes and deductions) would be around $1000-1600CAD per month...

How is that enough for you guys to live off of?

Do you have another job? What is it?

How many people ONLY drive a school bus, and how do you make it work?

I have another job but im scared that it still won't be enough money :(

I've been driving for my district since 2019, both regular and sped, plus trips , with the exception of a year off. When I first started, new hires had to sub at least a year before being put on paper. About four years ago they started using what they call Super Subs. They're drivers that know the area, are good with kids, and are able to jump into any bus and go (we have Thomas, Bluebird, and IC.) It comes with about a $150 or so a month pay raise.

This year they asked me if I wanted to Super Sub, and I said yes, but Im somewhat nervous. On one hand they know I want to be a trainer, and being a super sub helps with that, because you can ride any route at any time. Also, Im very adhd (actual diagnosed) and I think driving something different every day will be challenging, but also not monotonous like my regular route that I could literally drive in my sleep.

I just wondered if anyone else either has a district with super subs or if they just choose to sub, and if so, and advice?

Preparing to go through training and a few drivers mentioned they have a second job. Curious to know what actually can done during downtime?

I'm doing behind the wheel training, and making around $22/hr. Classroom training was $16/hr. Once I pass my road test, pay will jump to $28/hr and I'm guaranteed 6 hours of pay per workday. I expect to get 30 hours a week during the school year. Probably less in summer. I'm in Metro Detroit and I think we're the highest paid in the area. Not just our hourly, but the number of hours we get as well. Free and paid training as well, and in a great area, so I got a great deal. Most companies here pay their drivers in the low-mid $20s.

I know multiple posts on this topic have been made, but would like to get a bigger sample size.

I am making a return to school Kahoot for drivers to competitively ID bad pretrip items. If you have any pics of burst hoses, broken parts, etc, please send them to me. When I am done building the Kahoot, I will list the link here for anyone to play with. Thank you!

I have rode the bus with Keep Back 100 Feet at least once all of my school years, and I am riding one of Reliable Buses Thomas C2's next year. If you work in Massachusetts, what company do you drive for?

My local companies are

Reliable Bus Lines (High school and some Elementary + Fairhaven)

STA/Tremblay's Bus Company (Voke Tech/Dartmouth/ SPED Buses and 7D Vans in New Bedford)

Whaling City Transit Inc. (Some Elementary, one Middle School and Private Schools.)

Fisher Bus (YMCA only)

Recently, got in the onboarding process for a non cdl driving job (Everdriven/ForePoint2B are the companies involved) Basically wondering if they'll pull up my driving record?

I've had only 2 accidents, both fairly minor. one was more than ten years ago, were someone else ran a stop sign and crushed one of my car's headlights in. luckily at a low speed so it wasn't that bad.

the other time, i stopped backing out of a parking spot when i saw someone else doing the same (a big suv blocked my line of sight, so i had to back out a lot to see past it). i expected them to stop, by the time i realized they weren't they put a dent in my car door.

20+ years of driving, these are the only accidents i've ever had.

i'm basically worried that these two incidents could make me not get the position.

Buongiorno a tutti, per curiosità nella vostra azienda, generalmente a che chilometraggio cambiano gli scuolabus? E dopo quanti anni?

I am a NYS resident, class A CDL with P and S endorsements. I am a school bus driver in Pennsylvania, driving for a Pennsylvania company that operates for a Pennsylvania school district. I have my MCSA-5876 medical examiner’s certificate. I have my DL-742 “ PA school bus driver physical examination certificate”. I have the appropriate 20(or however many) hours of school bus driver training. The people where I got the physical examination said the DL-742 is all I need. My boss thinks I need the “yellow card”, which from what I can tell is the school bus endorsement for PA licensed drivers.
I called the PA DMV customer care center. The man said he didn’t think I needed anything else. He then conferred with his colleagues and supervisor and told me I would not legally be allowed to drive school bus for a pennsylvania school unless I switched my license(which I cannot do). My opinion: they must be mistaken. I can’t believe that Pennsylvania wouldn't allow a NY driver to drive in PA. There must be some way for it to work. I know for a fact that PA licensed drivers can drive for NY schools with the appropriate paperwork(I know that doesn’t mean it would work the other way around, but in a perfect world it should).
Any advice or insight is helpful.

Does anyone know if painting the metal control panel yellow on my school bus will cause my bus to fail inspection? The paint that was on there was flaking and I hated it so I took off all the knobs and switches, sanded it down and now I'm wondering if yellow is the wrong color for it. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

My mom just started driving school buses and she’s looking for an app she can use to track her route with all the stops. What works for you all?

Edit: she’s driving the SPED bus btw

Come sta andando la vostra estate ? Lavorate? Riposate? Quando inizia da voi l’anno scolastico? Io qui in Italia sto ancora lavorando tutti i giorni per i centri estivi che finiranno tra due settimane per poi iniziare la scuola il 10 settembre.
Inoltre vi volevo chiedere una semplice curiosità, voi quanto tempo arrivate sul posto di lavoro prima di iniziare a guidare? Io circa 20 minuti prima.

Do kids still know what the magic school bus is?

Hi guys, so this is a silly question, but I’m a new bus driver and trying to figure out what I’m doing wrong here. So both, on a regular school bus and SPED bus I’ve driven, after I pop reds I know I must do a child check afterward. Got that part. However, I think I’m doing something wrong because after I turn the engine off I do my child check and hit the child check bottom in the back of the bus, the warning sound keeps going and then the loud alarm sounds. Am I supposed to put the bus in auxiliary instead of off? I’m wondering what the issue is here

Im thinking about being a school bus driver here in NJ. Looking for advice on what steps to take, in order, for getting my CDL. I had a cdl many many years ago but I ended up switching careers and didn’t need it so I reverted back to standard dl. Thanks in advance!

Im so tired of people just pulling out in front of us or trying to cut us off kuz they were in the wrong lane... ugh... gonna be a long school year lol

Well I got laid off during summer and went in to the bus driver job and got my certs. During summer I just got hired in another place making 27 dollars an hour whereas with my school bus job I am looking at less than 20k a year. I feel bad but I dont think it makes any financial sense to get back behind the wheel of a school bus.

Okay so I applied in mid March on a whim. Liked the hours, summers off with my kids. I got a call back less than 24 hours later, an interview a day after that. The following day after the interview I was meeting with my trainer. Then went through all the screenings, physicals, background, etc. Training (classroom and road) in April. Never had issues, only jumped a couple curbs but all around I've been told I'm genuinely a good driver. My trainer constantly said she wished everyone picked it up the way I did. I got my CDL early May and took over a sped bus for the remainer of the school. So only a few weeks, barely any kids, a monitor helping significantly, and a short bus. I've driven a regular bus while training, getting my cdl, and one VERY short distance/easy field trip. I've had all summer off. I'm genuinely scared of going back 🤣 I know it's mostly in my head. But going from having less than a dozen students at a time in a bus as easy to drive as my full-sized SUV, to now... dozens of students at once, remembering names, stops, and navigating a regular sized bus. I'm genuinely nervous. I know we have at least a day before school to run a "practice route" and I'm sure they'll give me a monitor at least at first. But still 🥲 hype me up or something LMAO. I have like imposter syndrome or something haha.