Bus drivers held about 665,000 jobs in 2014. Of those, about 75 percent were school bus drivers or special-client bus drivers.
School bus drivers or special-client bus drivers are usually employed by a school district or private transportation company that contracts with a district to provide bus service. Some school bus service is provided by a local government.
The industries that employed the most school bus drivers in 2014 were as follows:
Elementary and secondary schools; local
41%
School and employee bus transportation
30
Local government, excluding education and hospitals
12
Other transit and ground passenger transportation
6
Most transit bus drivers worked for local governments or urban transit systems, which are private companies that contract with a city or town to provide bus service. Most charter-bus drivers worked in the charter-bus industry, and intercity bus drivers typically work in the interurban and rural bus transportation industry.
The industries that employed the most transit and intercity bus drivers in 2014 were as follows:
Local government, excluding education and hospitals
48%
Urban transit systems
17
Charter bus industry
11
Interurban and rural bus transportation
6
Driving through heavy traffic or bad weather and dealing with unruly passengers can be stressful for bus drivers.
Injuries and Illnesses
Bus drivers, especially transit and intercity drivers, had a higher rate of work-related injuries and illnesses than the national average. Most injuries to bus drivers were due to highway accidents.
Work Schedules
School bus drivers work only when school is in session. Some make multiple runs if schools in their district each open and close at different times. Others make only two runs, one in the morning and one in the afternoon, so their work hours are limited.
Transit drivers may work weekends, late nights, and early mornings.
Motor coach drivers travel with their passengers. The trip schedule dictates a driver's hours. They may work all hours of the day, as well as weekends and holidays. Intercity bus drivers can spend some nights away because of long-distance routes. Other intercity bus drivers make a round trip and go home at the end of each shift.