Explore jobs
Find specific jobs
Explore careers
Explore professions
Best companies
Explore companies
The differences between bus drivers and transportation drivers can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, a transportation driver has an average salary of $43,236, which is higher than the $36,879 average annual salary of a bus driver.
The top three skills for a bus driver include CDL, DOT and customer service. The most important skills for a transportation driver are CDL, DOT, and tractor trailer.
| Bus Driver | Transportation Driver | |
| Yearly salary | $36,879 | $43,236 |
| Hourly rate | $17.73 | $20.79 |
| Growth rate | 5% | 4% |
| Number of jobs | 359,229 | 1,006,562 |
| Job satisfaction | 4.5 | - |
| Most common degree | High School Diploma, 36% | High School Diploma, 38% |
| Average age | 58 | 48 |
| Years of experience | - | 2 |
Bus drivers are mainly responsible for safely transporting passengers to their destinations. Bus drivers must be attentive and highly focused to monitor road situations at all times, avoiding any cause of accidents. A bus driver must also ensure to follow all safety policies and procedures during the travel. Bus drivers should also be knowledgeable in monitoring the engine's condition, spot any unusual signals and inconsistencies of the vehicle system that might compromise everyone's safety and comfortability.
A transportation driver is responsible for transporting people and goods from one place to another. A transportation driver must have a clean driving record to operate vehicles carefully and efficiently. Transportation drivers must ensure that the passengers are safe and comfortable during the trip and that goods are in proper condition to avoid damage and defects. They should strictly adhere to the transport schedules and assigned routes to avoid delays of operations. A transportation driver should also understand maintenance basics of vehicles to perform repair and reconditioning of any engine malfunction.
Bus drivers and transportation drivers have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Bus Driver | Transportation Driver | |
| Average salary | $36,879 | $43,236 |
| Salary range | Between $29,000 And $45,000 | Between $26,000 And $70,000 |
| Highest paying City | Nashua, NH | Cheyenne, WY |
| Highest paying state | Massachusetts | Wyoming |
| Best paying company | Preston High School | West Tennessee Healthcare |
| Best paying industry | Education | - |
There are a few differences between a bus driver and a transportation driver in terms of educational background:
| Bus Driver | Transportation Driver | |
| Most common degree | High School Diploma, 36% | High School Diploma, 38% |
| Most common major | Business | Business |
| Most common college | - | - |
Here are the differences between bus drivers' and transportation drivers' demographics:
| Bus Driver | Transportation Driver | |
| Average age | 58 | 48 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 51.1% Female, 48.9% | Male, 72.8% Female, 27.2% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 9.1% Unknown, 4.7% Hispanic or Latino, 15.3% Asian, 2.7% White, 67.1% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.1% | Black or African American, 12.8% Unknown, 4.7% Hispanic or Latino, 19.0% Asian, 3.6% White, 59.1% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.8% |
| LGBT Percentage | 9% | 4% |