OVERLAND PARK, Kan. — People interested in a job driving a school bus can “test drive their career” during a hands-on hiring event in Olathe, Kansas, Thursday and Friday.
First Student bus company is hosting the job fair. The event allows interested applicants to drive a school bus on a closed course before even applying.
Training Manager Darlene Davis said allowing people to drive the bus dispels many misconceptions people have about driving a bus.
“We call it a big bus, no big deal event because the bus is so big, but once they get behind the wheel, most everybody says I should’ve done this a long time ago,” Davis explained.
First Student helps new hires obtain the necessary commercial driver's license. Davis said each new driver goes through hours of classroom and road training before the start of school. Training includes how to manage a bus full of students.
“We make sure they are well-trained before they even get on a route,” Davis highlighted.
Bus drivers at First Student start out earning between $17 and $19 an hour.
The job is part-time but includes benefits and opportunities to pick up extra hours. Drivers work a split shift with a break between morning and afternoon routes.
Parents of children over the age of one are allowed to have their child ride on the bus during their shift, eliminating the need for childcare.
Applicants must be 21 years or older and have at least three years of driving history.
First Student serves school districts in Lawrence, Gardner and DeSoto, Kansas. In Missouri, it serves Park Hill and charter schools within Kansas City.
No appointment is necessary. The hiring event runs from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. both Thursday, July 8, and Friday, July 9 at 500 N. Rogers Road in Olathe. If you cannot attend the event, you can apply online.
Several other bus companies and school districts are also hiring drivers ahead of the fall semester.
