bus driver

diesel mechanic

monitor

driver

van driver

First Student

A typical day at work for bus drivers involves arriving in the morning, gathering their things from dispatch, clocking in, and going to the bus to perform morning safety checks. Then, they perform their route, picking up students at group stops or individual pickup. They drop them off at their school. They return to the bus depot and return their items to Dispatch until their evening route. Return in the evening to gather their things once more and head to the school to pick up students and take them back to their specific drop off locations. Return to the bus depot, perform your ending safety check and clock out. Go home.

Days/Routes/Routines can vary though. You can pick up extra work around the location or even extra driving routes. You will typically get 20 hours a week. drivers can get "Midday" routes that will garner them extra hours. Currently at the time of this writing, I personally, get roughly 45 hours a week with my midday.

Bus Monitors will only get 20 hours a week unless they pick up extra work around the location or if they have a route that goes over 2  hour drive time.

Drivers and Monitors get a pay of 2 hours each Morning and Evening, unless the drive is over that time 

Extra work for Drivers can also be "Charters" or extra trips that schools or private parties take. The pay is not as much as regular route pay but provides extra money in your pocket.

At this specific location, most drivers will neglect to sign up for these trips, leaving the most dedicated workers to pile on the extra time. This causes friction between drivers and some bus monitors who can't stop complaining about it. If no one else signs up for the specific charter/trip and that single driver is the only one to sign the paper, they automatically get that trip. 

What you believe you learned: Obtained CDL, Perfere driving a School Bus over my vehicle. Kids are weird and entertaining.

Management: A lot of animosity is aimed towards Management, who as of this writing, has changed hands twice since I have worked there. A lot of mismanagement has been performed, leaving a bad taste in many mouths. Disputes with correct payment, lack of work, favoritism, and others have caused much friction.

On top of that, since starting we have changed the Safety Manager 3 times as well. Mechanics several times too. 

All for various reasons. Most of my observations for Mechanics were they didn't want to work or put in the hours. Drivers always reporting defects with the bus/van they drive was a constant issue.

Dispatch has a hard time as well with drivers/monitors. Juggling Distapcthing, Phone Calls, Gathering Drivers Materials, Reissuing Buses in case of failure, Drivers/Monitors calling off unexpectedly, Some Management not willing to help lend a hand, Handing out checks, and other various tasks. Dispatch does not get too much of a break at the location, often ordering food to be delivered as they don't get a chance to leave the office. On top of all of that, Drivers/Monitors will go and complain to or about Dispatch loud enough to be heard by all. From Buses being broken to pay disputes, which Disptach has nothing to do with any of that.

Workplace culture: Gossip and complaining by those who just come in to annoy people. It's pretty easy to come in grab your stuff and go do your job. Some like to come in early and complain about anything and everything to any who will listen but are unwilling to go find a solution to their issues. Others are great to work with and will encourage people who are in a bad mood and try to cheer them up. These are the people that I hang around with (As I am there most of the work day with all the extra work I do)

The hardest part of the job: Complaints from lazy workers, Some children being hard to handle, Some Routes not having a Bus Monitor, Getting up at 5 am to get ready for work, Several Weeks off due to School Closing for Holidays (Thanksgiving is 1 week, Christmas to New Years is 2 Weeks. Yes you can get unemployment but it's a hassle not having a weekly paycheck), Most buses don't have Air Conditioning for extremely hot days. Some buses don't have working Heat for winter days. Winter and being on a bus in negative-degree weather.

The most enjoyable part of the job: Some co-workers make being there the best! The kids if you can relate to and get along with them. Job Security.

Job Advancement: Unless you are a Bus Monitor looking to pick up a CDL and become a driver, you won't find much. You can sign up for certain jobs if they come up, but that is pretty much it. 

I joined the company as a school bus driver in June of 2015. I already had a class-A CDL from work as a semi truck driver, so just needed to add the passenger and school bus endorsements to my CDL, which First Student provided very good training for. After two years with the company I applied for a CDL trainer position and was accepted, then went through company-provided training for that. (I still drive my regular routes in addition to training new drivers at other times.) The pay is very good for being a part-time job, and while I was a little nervous at first about running a so-called "day care on wheels," I've found that the kids on my bus routes have become like a second family!

The job isn't for everyone -- you need to be able to get up fairly early in the morning and be responsible enough to show up at work every day (or notify in advance as much as possible when you can't come in to work due to illness or emergency). Or, if you're into recreational drugs or such things this job definitely isn't for you. The company also does not have health insurance for part-time employees like the drivers, so you need to either be on someone else's insurance or purchase an Obamacare-type plan. The job is ideal for people who have recently retired who have a spouse/partner with insurance coverage, or are eligible for Medicare, but we also have quite a few drivers who are younger and either go without health insurance or get it through other means.

A typical day starts at 6:00 am with check-in at the dispatch desk, then you get your bus keys and walk out to your bus to do the daily pre-trip inspection. (You typically drive the same bus each day unless it's in the shop for periodic maintenance.) After pre-trip, you head out to the first stop on your route and wait there until the designated "stop time." You then proceed to the other stops on the route, each with a specific time that you wait to leave from. After each route, you drop off the kids at one or more schools and proceed to the first stop on your next route where the process repeats. (Drivers typically have 2-3 routes in the morning and the same in the afternoon, sometimes with a short break in between the routes for a bathroom stop etc.) Morning routes are usually complete by 9:30 am. You then park the bus either back at the bus company lot, or with specific permission, may "park out" the bus near your home until the afternoon routes.

Afternoon routes start around 2:00 pm and follow the same pattern as the morning routes; the only difference being that you just drop the kids off at each stop in order without adherence to specific stop times like in the morning. Routes are usually finished between 4:30 and 5:00 pm, at which you park the bus back at the bus company, (refuel it if needed) and perform the post-trip inspection.

I've found that being a bus driver has made me a better person overall, and I love seeing my kids every day and interacting with them. I miss them during the summer, and each year have to say goodbye to 5th graders and 8th graders who will be on a different bus route the next year as they progress from elementary to middle to high school. Tears are sometimes shed!

The management at my local location has been great. They have really tough jobs at times, but I've always been treated with respect and fairness. (In truth, I've been pretty good to them also -- it definitely works both ways.)

First Student / Falcon Bus Management Chicago West 4155 W Chicago Ave, Chicago IL will lie to steal your sign on bonuses, and pay is always short. Busses break down often and propane busses often are not fueled in time for routes due to special training required. Have to stay on top of drivers window to get keys to bus to leave on-time. School pick up and drop off times remain consistent throughout the year but clock in and clock out times change daily at base location. Being on time seems to be the last priority and training is a joke. I really loved working for First Student in the past but this location is an embarrassment to the First Student name.  The process was not as well run as Jacksonville Florida and very un-organized. I applied also because they said they were offering a $3000.00 sign on bonus for experienced drivers with $500.00 for training pay after training completion. Keep in mind I now have been driving commercial vehicles for almost 20 years including transit busses, MCI coach busses and Class A Trucks with all endorsements including passenger endorsement and past First Student experience as a School Bus Driver, Behind the Wheel Trainer and a Safety Team Member. I was told that I was not qualified for the $3000.00 bonus because I did not have school bus permit certification from State of Illinois. I applied on 05/08/2018 at 4155 West Chicago Avenue Suite 102, Chicago IL 60655 in person after applying on-line with First Student First Group. I was contacted by recruiting and asked to come in for an interview at 09:30am. I was interviewed and given a written contingent offer of employment with a pay guarantee based on previous First Student school bus experience of $19.50per hour, $1000.00 sign on bonus and $500.00 training pay. My training did not commence until January 2019 and I was completed by last day of February 2019. Experienced great difficulties getting the training completed due to lost applications and miss management in every area of this terminal location from training to 1st day of school. No turn by turn directions and no promised training pay and bonus monies in a timely fashion and still owed $500.00 in training pay to this day. I take pride in good outcomes and fair play. Many that came in the door with me have already left First Student Chicago West altogether. Some became drivers and drove last school year but did not return and some left before training was complete but I’m still here. The level of duplicity is alarming to put it lightly and the challenges of reorganization as would be hoped for are waning. I will continue to hope for the best. Lack of sense of urgency and passing of the buck off to other entities like CPS Board by Chicago West administrative staff and management to address driver concerns and issues concerning student transportation. New management just as bad as old management. Been looking for new position and still looking. Got to go.

A typical day at work for me was. I get there in the morning usually help one of the other mechanics with repairs on a school bus or start a service or PM on a school bus. That would take acouple of hours depending on what kind of service it is. The buses usually left around 1:30pm-2:00pm for afternoon routes. So from 2:00pm-4:30Pm I was either cleaning the shop, going on road calls, sometimes mowing the lot. When they start coming back some would stop infront for shop for simple repair example- light bulb. And then I would do another service and the repairs. And I would leave for the day at 8:00pm.

What I learned. Pretty much when I first started to work at First Student. I pretty much didn't know a whole lot about school buses. And so as the years went on I was tawt more threw the Shop Foreman/Lead Tech. The things I was tawt were: Service's, well exhaust is pretty easy to learn. And thats the same with removing tires/wheels. I learned alittle electrical and diagnosing. I know how to do hydralic brake jobs. And need some more time learning on the air brakes.

Management. It was good some days and not so good other days. I don't think this is bad on my part but while working there. I went threw 3 bosses.

My co-workers. When I first started I loved working with the guys that were there. I became friends with the guy that was in the wash bay. He would wash school buses and fix seats. The other mechanic was good. But he had his days when he would be bossy. And he had more lunch brakes and smoke brakes. And then when my first boss left it was still the same until the second boss came. He started strict and played everything by the book. And he was trying to get to know all of us in the shop. But he got better as the years went on. When the guy in the wash bay left and the other mechanic left. Then it got alittle hecktic. Then they found this new mechanic. He was really good at first but then started to get weird. When the second boss left that new mechanic was trying to say that he was the new boss, but he really didn't know anything. Then we got the Third boss and he was as good even better then the second boss. And then shortly after the third boss left. And then the office people put that one mechanic incharge. There was a new mechanic too and he was pretty good.

The hardest part of the job was. Probably in the summer when it got really hot. You see this shop was old and didn't have air conditioning so you can imagine on how hot it got in there. And also helping with the other mechanics doing specific jobs. Like leaf springs, wheel seals, radiators, transmissions, etc...

The most enjoyable part of the job for me was doing tires. I loved doing that job because threw the years I became so good at it. And if the tire was stuck I could beat it with a sledgehammer. When it was layed back days. The days we went to the dump. During the summer we lent buses out for detassiling, so a service would pop up and I would have to go out and do a service where ever these buses where at.

The schedule is the most appealing aspect of this job, aligning closely with the school calendar, offering weekends and holidays off. Work hours are divided into a morning run, an afternoon run, and mid-day field trips, particularly for new drivers. A typical schedule includes reporting between 5:30 and 5:45 am, leaving the yard at 6:00 am, starting the first pick-up at 6:30 am, and completing the school drop-off by 8:30 am. Field trips usually run from 9:30 am to 1:30 pm, followed by school pick-ups at 2:00 pm, with the last drop-off by 3:30 pm, and returning to the yard around 4:30 to 5:00 pm, depending on traffic, weather conditions, bus breakdowns, and accidents. Compensation for field trips is paid $25 for trips within the closest boroughs or $50 for trips to the farthest boroughs.

Total working hours amount to approximately 10 hours per day. However, only the time spent with students on the bus is considered compensated, leaving the remaining time as "free time." Whether this arrangement is advantageous or not is subjective.

Management is generally satisfactory, similar to what one might expect from an average company. They provide assistance when possible but are primarily focused on maximizing profits. Overall, the management experience is decent.

The dispatch team consists of individuals with varying attitudes, ranging from helpful to indifferent. They prioritize the company's interests, so drivers must be vigilant and proactive in protecting their own interests.

The fleet primarily consists of older buses, which frequently experience breakdowns. Typically, senior drivers or those with personal connections receive the better buses. Additionally, many buses are often found in a dirty and unkempt state, which is partly the responsibility of the drivers.

The mechanics work diligently with the resources available to them. Whenever I encountered an issue, they attempted to resolve it as quickly as possible, though the age of the fleet presents ongoing challenges.

In general, the bus drivers are friendly and willing to assist when they can. However, there is a noticeable attitude of minimalism, with some drivers treating the job as a routine task without much concern for the bus, passengers, or driving skills.

In conclusion, I do not want to discourage anyone from applying to this company, nor do I want the company to perceive this as an attack. My intention is to assist new drivers, as the recruitment process is not entirely transparent. This may be due to the company’s need to hire drivers at any cost. Overall, the company is satisfactory; they always pay on time. Toughen up, and don't let management, dispatchers, parents, kids, or buses get under your skin. In the end, is it just a job?

UGH. OMG. This company here...

The thing is, Its not EVERY First Student. Apparently there are other locations across the country where it is actually a pleasent place to work. They arent located in the area where they have the country's WORST BEHAVED CHILDREN and decide to neglect to do anything about it. They also wont leave you to fend for yourself with a bus full of nasty mannered kids or even if they DID try to help, they would just tell the monitor to do something about it and then write an incident report when you get back.................just so they can NEGLECT TO PROCESS THE INCIDENT REPORT. 

These other places DONT mess up your pay check every week, leaving 5 hours off of your pay check. They also know how to set up your direct deposit CORRECTLY and NOT randomly deposit $15 out of your check into your account and give you the rest as a paper check. They also dont do this randomly every 3 months either. 

They have actual adults working there, and not a bunch of 35 year old teenagers that devolves the entire workplace into your highschool that you try to forget about. Your coworkers, even though they have a job to do, they dont take off out the office like its some sort of plague......just to avoid their troublesome coworkers. 

the other lots clean their buses and dont leave it for others to clean. When you have to do charters, they dont give you a dirty bus and expect you to clean it.

again. apparently this is not EVERY lot. But it was mine. Lots of neglect that comes to these lots that are located in big cities. It also doesnt help when their corporate office is RIGHT DOWN THE STREET FROM THIS PROBLEMATIC LOT. 

Saddest part of all, they dont act like they want to keep career bus drivers. There are drivers that actually LOVE what they do. They CHOOSE this as a life style. If someone who wants to come out of retirement just to drive busses again, I WOULD NOT RECOMMEND THIS COMPANY. 

But I can say ONE good thing, I NEVER had a Bad manager.

Not only that, The managers there ALSO have to do the same foul routes the regular drivers do if there is not enough drivers to cover them. So its honestly never the case where they dont really care. If they give you the answer that there is nothing they can do about a particular situation, high chance, THEY hate it as well because they have to deal with it too.  its the entity of the company itself that creates the mass of problems that it has.

(P.S: dont know anything about the NEW CEO of First Group so I really have no judgement)

They do pay for a Class B CDL but after you are done with the training you realize that they never told you anything about the rules specific to the company or the district and you spend the first few weeks figuring them out by breaking them and getting reprimanded for it.

The buses themselves are poorly maintained. I have yet to drive one that doesn't have the check engine light on among hosts of other problems. You can write them up but it takes weeks for them to fix minor things like lights and bigger things they won't fix until the bus literally dies because of it and won't move anymore. If your batteries aren't holding a charge they will just jump the bus every day rather than replacing them for instance.

The coworkers are nice for the most part but you have to be careful who you say things to because there is a huge gossip problem and people like to stir the pot.

Morale is pretty low overall and you can regularly hear people calling the company "First Stupid." Some of this can be linked back to management who believes "Monitors are a dime a dozen" and the like. The rest seems to stem from the fact that you have almost no support if you have an issue because you have no actual authority to do anything but write the kids up. Usually this just results in a parent yelling at you for writing their kid up and the school doing nothing to help.

The rate of pay is decent until you realize that you will be lucky if you have a route with more than 20-25 hours a week that takes up about 11-12 hours a day because of the split shifts so it really doesn't cover cost of living expenses by itself and makes a second job hard to work. And the "benefits" are prohibitively expensive and really don't pay for anything at all. Plus the Summer you get laid off unless you are high enough on seniority to get a Summer route so you have to plan for that huge loss of income since unemployment benefits only cover a bit of the loss.

They also do regular safety meetings which are just hour long sessions where they tell you how you are failing to meet metrics the corporation has set from on high and watch videos that just repeat what you already know. But hey at least you get paid for them.

It can be very stressful and your route changes almost weekly. Parents will yell at you for almost any reason it seems.

But for the most part you are left alone to just drive so that's nice. Plus if you get a good monitor it makes your life so much less stressful.  And some of the kids are pretty awesome. Some are crazy hooligans too.

What is the best part of working at the company?
The job has stress and demands that must be accepted, but - the gratification and community benefits outweigh any negatives! The drivers and monitors support each other and pull together to achieve our common goal… safely transport our most valuable and precious cargo; our children and our future!

What is the most stressful part about working at the company?
There’s always a high demand upon you to ‘deliver’ your very best day after day; Winter, Spring, and Fall… and strive to hit a balance of satisfaction to the school system, your students,  their parents, and the company that you’re employed under.

What is the work environment and culture like at the company?
The typical work culture is teeming with families. Husbands and wives can be a driver and monitor TEAM; retirees that are a little restless at home and still have the energy and desire to return to a ‘working class’ status on a part-time basis, find this an excellent way to satisfy their ‘at home’ boredom AND supplement their income on a part-time basis.

What is a typical day like for you at the company?
The day’s work- as you might imagine- begins early, but folks AWAYS bring food to the job to share freely and because of the nature of the business… working with children- there’s no restrictions about bring your little ones to work WITH YOU! (…. even taking them on your routes with you- which is the best and safest and cheapest ‘childcare’ system of which I know!)
You have small buses, medium size, and large buses too. You can choose between transporting ‘special needs students’ or not. The ‘special needs’ category includes the  behavioral-displaying students as well as our  wheel chair transported students. ( ….** any ‘special needs’ route - if only one student- warrants a ride along monitor so that two work as one team; the driver can concentrate on the vehicle and the road, while the monitor tends to the special needs of the passengers.) Also, there are early routes, early child care routes, mid-day runs, after school activities, and ‘events’ of all kinds that are available throughout the regular school term as well as summer routes and activities!

My typical day starts with check-in at 0600, drive morning routes as assigned.  May then proceed on to Charter/Special Event as contracted by school.  Students are returned to school following completion of Charter; then may proceed to afternoon routes, returning students home. I am home at night to be with my husband!

I have obtained my CDL with Passenger/School Endorsement, after NEVER having driven a bus or truck previously! i have learned different driving skills, making me an all-around safer driver. Have learned different interaction skill with various age levels and special needs children, as well as their parents.

Management is challenging!!! 

Co-workers, for most-part, are enjoyable, diverse in experiences, enjoy working with children and try to do their best each day. Co-workers are very supportive of each other, given management. Enjoy number of co-workers who have become like family and  good friends that can be depended upon and are appreciative of various talents and experiences.

Hardest part of the job is management and poor condition of the bus yard. 

Most enjoyable part of the job is the flexibility it has given me to have time with my family, to care for my mother, to be able to participate in my church choirs and as a cantor and allow me to appreciate the beauty in the world around me.  I have been able to have more holidays with my family than have had in past 8 years and was able to enjoy planning and celebrating my daughter's wedding, without having to worry about switching shifts with someone or work mandated double shifts!

I have developed wonderful friendships with co-workers that share many of the same values and beliefs that I do and appreciate the talents and diversity of each.

I enjoy the children: seeing them grow and develop: getting hugs from them in public places when I am recognized.  It is gratifying to have parents tell me that they feel so safe knowing their child is in my care!

Yeah, they talk safety... They talk fun environment... and they also promise benefits and fair practices... they even offer employee perks and bonuses but it's all phoney baloney. Once you go through training you can't leave for several months or you owe them money. The management has a lackluster and extremely biased approach to solving internal problems. The "fun environment" is corrupted with drama, gossip, backstabbing, and malicious intent against each other. There is corruption amongst the staff and management, and don't think for a moment that this company will back you up on any type of issue. Document everything or you are assumed a liar. Pay is below average and raises are disappointing. Staff seems to have issues with treating employees with professional respect and dignity. They talk big about Safety - however there are no consequences for violators of safety rules, therefore they have no consistency nor safety compliance enforcement. The majority of seniority drivers are disabled or physically unable to pass the physical dexterity test - however, somehow coninue to drive year after year even though they are too unfit to save a life or walk down the aisle to the back of the bus. There is definetly a lot of undesirable behavior exhibited at this company. However, this is a perfect job for a single person with no financial/family responsibilities. Your shift starts early in the morning, work for a couple hours - then have a few hours (about 4hrs) free in the middle of the day, - then work again for a couple hours. You have several days off, long weekends, and long unpaid vacations plus your summers are free because you are laid off form June until September. Oh yeah, and your benefits - you pay for them straight out of your paycheck every week and the rates are high. If you are employed by this company and plan to leave, or are seeking a more beneficial opportunity, don't speak a word of your endeavors or you may become the victim of a bogus termination conspiracy.

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