The Pennsylvania Department of Transportation has issued nearly $250,000 to help seven schools and transportation providers statewide cover the costs to train new bus drivers – including through commercial driver’s license (CDL) training, trainee wages, and testing and permit fees.

[Above photo via PennDOT]

Those funds come from the state’s first-ever School Bus Safety Grant Program, which is part of the new School Bus Safety Program established by the state legislature and signed into law by Governor Josh Shapiro (D) in 2023 to increase school bus safety for Pennsylvania’s students and communities.

Mike Carroll (at podium). Photo by PennDOT.

“This funding and [a] new application round will help schools and communities make getting to school as safe and reliable as possible,” said Mike Carroll, PennDOT’s secretary, in a statement. “We especially encourage transportation providers to consider and apply for these grants to help grow the number of bus drivers across the Commonwealth.”

[Editor’s note: The Governors Highway Safety Association and safety advocacy group BusPatrol recently released A National Action Plan for School Bus Safety to provide what both organizations describe as a “first-ever comprehensive national roadmap to protect the 20 million children who rely on the nation’s 500,000 school buses every day.” The plan includes 69 specific recommendations for State Highway Safety Offices, law enforcement personnel, educators, school districts, bus drivers, the private sector, autonomous vehicle providers, roadway safety advocates and the judiciary, both groups said in a statement.]

For example, Pennsylvania law allows school districts to install and operate automated camera systems to enforce Pennsylvania’s School Bus Stopping Law and increase safety for children riding school buses across the state. Of the $300 fine assessed for these automated violations, the law requires $25 be paid to PennDOT to be used for the School Bus Safety Grant Program, the agency said.

Grants from the program can be used to pay for education, training, and other associated costs related to an individual earning their commercial learner’s permit, commercial driver’s license, or school bus endorsement for the purpose of driving a school bus in Pennsylvania, PennDOT added, as well as to help promote and increase school bus safety, education, and training.

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