Job fair set to help ease school bus driver shortage

GOLETA, Calif. - There is a school bus driver shortage across the country and efforts to resolve it here on the South Coast will come in the form of a job fair Saturday in Goleta.

The Student Transportation of America company is recruiting drivers with a starting pay of $19.00 an hour. The company says it comes with paid holidays and paid training.

You do not need to have prior experience as a professional driver.

The STA office is at 6500 Hollister Ave. The hiring fair takes place from 11:00 am to 2:00 pm.

Drivers who are hired will be working for the Santa Barbara School District and Peabody School.

School bus drivers, heading out twice a day for their shifts say this is a rewarding job and they want to see more people getting behind the wheel.

Driver Janelly Calderon says, "you build that relationship with the students, the teachers,  parents,  it is a great job  I have been here 10 years I love it. "

The Vice President of Student Transportation of America bus service Ken Pittman says they have many openings and that's because after the COVID slow down,  some of the senior drivers weren't ready to return, and others on the staff got jobs elsewhere.

Pittman said, "we found a number of them moved,  out of the state.  So that was one of the big reasons for the attrition."

Bus Driver Ceci Esparza says the job is rewarding. "We are the first person that they see in the morning before they go to school so it is nice to have that personal relationship. "

The students are called a "precious cargo."  Pittman says, "it's not like a trucking company where you put boxes in the back of a truck and transport them. We pride ourselves  on being able to pick up a student or a child and transport them to and from school  every day safely."

There's both  morning and afternoon shifts to the job but one of the keys is the flexibility.

Calderon said, "so you have your AM and your PM and in between you  can do your errands,  if you have a second job which works good."

 One driver, a retiree, said it gets him up and out each day.

Arlen Geigle was checking over his vehicle and said, "I had too much on my hands on my time and I love working with kids so this is perfect for me."

Not all the routes are covered these days,  that's why they urgently need drivers,  and some of them are also parents of the students who have joined the team.

"You can be a stay at home mom, you can have an extra job. The block scheduling work fantastic," said Esparza.   

For more information go to : STACareers.com