ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. – As students prepare to head back to class, Orange County Public Schools bus drivers are getting ready, too — learning this year’s routes and timing out morning stops.
Rosa Zayas, an OCPS bus driver, recently ran through part of her route with News 6 as the district works to fill vacancies ahead of the first day of school.
Zayas has driven for Orange County Public Schools for 11 years and said she still enjoys the job — especially working with students.
“I love this job,” Zayas said. “I just love it and working with the kids.”
Zayas takes pride in her bus and the safety equipment on board, including air conditioning and 10 cameras. She said the cameras can help if staff members need to review video.
But district leaders said Orange County is still short on drivers, an issue that can affect families when the district is understaffed.
“Being a bus driver can be challenging at times,” said Jason Mendoza, OCPS senior director of transportation. “You’re transporting children — it’s high safety.”
More than 52,000 students ride the bus each day in Orange County, the district said. When routes are short-staffed, drivers may have to “double back” to pick up students who could not be picked up on the first run — sometimes causing delays and making students late to school.
“We’re doing double backs,” Mendoza said. “We’re having to go back and pick up students that weren’t able to get on the bus the first time around.”
The district said it needs about 50 more drivers to be fully staffed.
For Zayas, it is work she can’t imagine leaving behind.
“If students are missing the bus, I will be the first one to jump, and I will retrieve them,” she said.
If you’re interested in becoming a bus driver for Orange County Public Schools, click here.