HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY, Fla. — Kids will get up early to catch the bus and head to school in just a few days. Hillsborough County School bus drivers are practicing their routes before day one to ensure everything goes off without a hitch.
As the new school year inches closer, Alicia Caridi is readying her kids for a new experience: riding the bus.
"They’re excited for the bus too because they'll meet some friends at the bus stop, so it'll be an automatic kind of neighborhood group that’ll enter the school together,” said Caridi.
Like many parents, she hopes everything goes smoothly.
"Day one, let's hope that they get on the bus, and they get seated, and they stay seated,” said Caridi. “I’m excited to have the bus and not have the car line. That does save me a lot of time, and it keeps the kids on a really good schedule.”
In anticipation of the first day, Hillsborough County Schools said bus drivers are doing test runs, practicing their routes for Thursday. Like other school districts, it comes as they face a bus driver shortage.
"We are actively recruiting. We need over 200 folks right now,” said Laura Hill, the district’s General Manager for Transportation.
Hill said their drivers would have to do multiple runs into schools to manage that.
"Some kids are going to have to be picked up a little earlier and be brought into schools so the drivers can go back out and get another group of students,” said Hill.
Hill welcomes anyone passionate about students interested in paid training, benefits, and flexible schedules, for the job.
In the meantime, school leaders ask for patience.
"I would tell our parents just expect on the first day of school, like any other year, there could be delays, so just bear with us as we get this school year kicked off,” said Van Ayres, the Hillsborough County Schools Interim Superintendent.
Parents will also want to check out the “Here Comes the Bus” app, which gives real-time GPS information on bus arrival times for morning pick-up and afternoon drop-off.
"I don't work far from the bus stop, so it'll be nice to know and just be able to get right down there,” said Caridi.