(WXYZ) — Students will return to the sound of the first bell on Monday morning, but they have to find a way to get to school first.
Tens of thousands of kids across metro Detroit ride the school bus, but many districts are dealing with a bus driver shortage. That includes Novi, Utica, Livonia and West Bloomfield.
I wanted to see what goes into the job, so I got behind the wheel of a school bus to get the full experience.
Krystal Maxwell has been a bus driver for Utica for the last five years. There are a lot of reasons she likes her job, including the feeling she gets behind the wheel.
"I wish I could drive my bus more than my car," she said.
Maxwell said you drive the bus the exact same way you would drive your vehicle.
"You just have to have to think about the bus is actually longer and just a little bit wider," she said.
It was nice being able to sit up high, and Maxwell was right, it was just like driving a car. You just have to give yourself plenty of time to brake.
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"Do you usually need to give it a little bit more time to stop?" I asked.
"You do, just push the brake down," she said. "They are very touchy they are air breaks so you'll see they can get a little stiff sometimes."
Overall, it was fun and not hard to learn. That's the message those hiring for the Utica Community School District hope to get across to entice more drivers to work for them.
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We are still looking to hire between 25 to 30 drivers for this upcoming season," Brian LaPorte, the director of safety and management services for Utica schools, said. "Last year at the start of the school year I was down about 60 drivers, so I'm about halfway to where I need to be."
If you do want to become a bus driver, the certification process is easy, and takes about five weeks.
"It's just a little time-consuming, you have to be real to dedicate some time to studying for the test," LaPorte said.
In Utica, they will hold open houses for people to get behind the wheel and get first-hand experience themselves.
