From Christopher Hall
Each school day in Alabama’s 138 school districts, more than 10,000 school buses safely transport more than 350,000 students to and from school. Alabama school bus drivers travel over 450,000 miles each school day, navigating rural roads, neighborhood streets, and multi-lane highways to deliver Alabama’s most precious cargo to their schools and homes safely.
It is estimated that the use of school buses saves over 48,000,000 gallons of fuel in Alabama each year, compared to that required by individual family vehicles. Weather, road conditions, student passengers, and other motorists often create special challenges to school bus drivers as they carry out their duties.
Many school districts are facing bus driver shortages that make it harder for the current drivers to do their jobs and that underscore the important role school bus drivers have in student success . Many school district bus shop employees including substitute drivers, bus mechanics, shop foremen, other staff and support specialists and management fill these driver shortages by driving morning and afternoon routes in addition to their regular eight-hour day shifts. Without school buses and school bus drivers, many public-school students would not have safe, reliable transportation to and from school. Our bus drivers and bus mechanics are often the very first and last school employee to support students, providing a positive impact to students as they begin and end each day.
Governor Ivey said “the State of Alabama salutes and appreciates school bus drivers and recognizes the invaluable contributions they make to public education and student safety and well-being. The State of Alabama encourages residents to recognize the excellence of our state’s school bus drivers and their strong record of safety. Now therefore I, Kay Ivey, Governor of the State of Alabama, do hereby proclaim August 2025 as “School Bus Driver Appreciation Month” in Alabama, and commend its observance to all citizens.”
In the photo with Gov. Ivey are school bus drivers Faye Wyatt and Christopher Hall.
Please let your school bus driver know you appreciate them as school starts back next week.
