Letter to Hon. Pete Buttigieg, Secretary of Transportation - Maine Delegation Presses Dept. of Transportation to Help Alleviate Bus Driver Shortage

Letter

Dear Secretary Buttigieg:

We write in support of Maine Governor Janet Mills's requests in her letter to you dated
November 5, 2021 related to "School Bus Driver Licensing Flexibilities." We have heard from
constituents about how the workforce challenges brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic are
particularly dire for the school bus sector. Further, Maine people have told us that it is urgent to
take any available actions to streamline the hiring process for school bus drivers in order to
reduce shortages of these critical workers. Such actions include delaying the February
7th implementation date for the Entry-Level Driver Training (ELDT) requirements for school
bus drivers and maintaining the waiver of the waiting period for school bus drivers taking the
Commercial Driver's License (CDL) skills test.

The COVID-19 pandemic has hit both the education and transportation sectors especially hard,
and this is distinctly true for the school bus drivers who bridge these two sectors. First, in 2020,
extended suspensions of in-person learning reduced the work available for drivers, leading many
to seek other jobs. Now that demand has returned, many school districts are facing short-staffed
bus fleets, forcing difficult decisions about canceling bus routes, which undermine children's
ability to access the educational opportunities they need and deserve. The federal government
must work with states to grant temporary regulatory flexibilities to ease these pressures for
school bus providers and drivers while continuing to ensure road safety.

We appreciate your attention to this matter and stand ready to work with you on solutions to
these challenges for our students, families, school districts, and transportation companies.

Sincerely,