WACO, Texas — There’s a new bill called the Driving Forward Act, which would help address the nationwide shortage of bus drivers by cutting out a part of the exam.
25 News spoke to Dr. Bobby Ott with Temple ISD, and he says this legislation is a great idea.
There’s a nationwide shortage of bus drivers — a shortage felt in Central Texas.
“We have a little shortage, but it’s not pronounced like other districts," Dr. Bobby Ott said.
Some districts in the state bus kids every other week, instead of daily.
A bill introduced by US Representative John Carter (who represents Gatesville down to Round Rock) would extend the current under-the-hood test exemption to get qualified individuals into the driver’s seat.
"Ensuring students can get to school is a burden for our schools, and we cannot hamstring them by placing unnecessary barriers to bus driver entry," Representative Carter said.
The under-the-hood test is a portion of the CDL exam which requires a driver to learn about the engine and mechanics.
Dr. Ott says that omitting that exam wouldn’t affect student’s safety.
“If something happens under the hood, you can’t do anything about it," he said.
"You evacuate the students and call a mechanic who then comes.”
The National School Transportation Association strongly supports the Driving Forward Act.
Dr. Ott says it’s way more important to have bus drivers so students aren’t missing school due to no bus drivers.
“This leads into truancy and missing extracurricular activities," he said.
Representative Carter says he’s hoping that Congress will vote on the bill this summer.
