(RightWing.org) – President Joe Biden is bouncing around the country promoting the Democrats’ beloved Inflation Reduction Act of 2022, a precursor to the eventual passage of progressives’ Green New Deal — provided the president wins a second term next year. He’s also bragging about “Bidenomics,” a term Biden co-opted from Conservatives who coined it as a smear. While he’s away from his desk, a transportation crisis is rocking cities nationwide.
School districts from coast to coast are experiencing severe shortages of school bus drivers for the third year in a row. Officials have experienced difficulties filling vacant positions for a long time largely due to the job’s responsibilities and low pay. Several other factors are playing a role in the shortages, including mandatory background checks and drug testing.
However, as USA Today recently reported, “the problem has reached crisis levels” in the wake of pandemic-related lockdowns. National statistics for 2023 aren’t available yet, but the media outlet conducted an independent review of local statistics and news coverage related to the crisis. It found at least one instance of a municipality experiencing a significant school bus driver shortage in all 50 states.
On August 18, CBS News published an article confirming the scope of the crisis. It noted that school district officials in several major metropolitan areas like Tampa and Chicago recently sent letters to parents warning them of shortages and asking them to drive their children to classes until they hire more school bus drivers.
The Independent School District of Philadelphia (SDP) took a different approach to combat the driver shortage. SDP officials recently launched a program offering eligible parents up to $3,000 yearly ($300 per month) to transport their children back and forth to school.
The SDP also offers a program paying half that sum to families opting to take their children to school but utilizing district transportation services to take them back home in the afternoon. Parents interested in enrolling in either program can apply on the district’s website.
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