Better Air Helps Bus Driver Absenteeism Issue

Keeping Kids Safer Keeps More

School Bus Drivers Behind the Wheel

Modern school busses are now closed ecosystems. Most have climate controls and the windows are not open when busses are occupied. Additionally, there is the matter of ‘passenger density’. The average school bus has over seven (7) times more students per cubic foot than inside a classroom — and that is at half of the bus’s capacity. 

Scope and Severity  

The Jones County School District in Georgia has up to 18 drivers out sick before installing air purification in busses.  Since installing the technology in November, they’ve only had about drivers out sick. One Kentucky school system reported having 68 drivers out sick in one day. With the flu season approaching, many transportation directors are bracing for staffing shortages and service interruptions. But new on board air purification technologies are showing results in the form of fewer drivers calling in. 

“We had routes with no drivers. Parents were having to take their kids to school and pick them up in the afternoon. And it just progressively got worse ….”

Wendy Vaughn
Director, Jones County Schools Dept.. of Transportation