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The differences between school bus drivers and drivers can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, a school bus driver has an average salary of $37,607, which is higher than the $34,771 average annual salary of a driver.
The top three skills for a school bus driver include vehicle inspections, customer service and safety rules. The most important skills for a driver are math, basic math, and CDL.
| School Bus Driver | Driver | |
| Yearly salary | $37,607 | $34,771 |
| Hourly rate | $18.08 | $16.72 |
| Growth rate | 5% | 11% |
| Number of jobs | 112,230 | 1,017,998 |
| Job satisfaction | 1.5 | 4.33 |
| Most common degree | High School Diploma, 35% | High School Diploma, 43% |
| Average age | 58 | 48 |
| Years of experience | - | - |
A school bus driver is responsible for students' safe transportation during school days or any related events. Aside from ensuring that the students get to their destination on time, a school bus driver must ensure to abide by the traffic laws and regulations at all times and follow particular routes for picking-up and dropping off students. Furthermore, a school bus driver must ensure students' safety at all times by conducting daily bus maintenance and maintaining order inside the vehicle.
Drivers are responsible for safely transporting people, packages, or goods from one destination to another. They should be familiar with the different routes that may be taken to reach the desired goal. They should be expert navigators and may use navigation apps to help them along the way. They should also be familiar with the basic mechanics of the vehicle they are using and the proper maintenance and cleaning needed to ensure that the car is running well. Drivers are expected to have excellent customer relation skills, a strong sense of direction, and superb organizations.
School bus drivers and drivers have different pay scales, as shown below.
| School Bus Driver | Driver | |
| Average salary | $37,607 | $34,771 |
| Salary range | Between $30,000 And $46,000 | Between $22,000 And $53,000 |
| Highest paying City | Springfield, MA | Boston, MA |
| Highest paying state | Massachusetts | Vermont |
| Best paying company | Epic Systems | Air Liquide |
| Best paying industry | Education | Manufacturing |
There are a few differences between a school bus driver and a driver in terms of educational background:
| School Bus Driver | Driver | |
| Most common degree | High School Diploma, 35% | High School Diploma, 43% |
| Most common major | Business | Business |
| Most common college | - | - |
Here are the differences between school bus drivers' and drivers' demographics:
| School Bus Driver | Driver | |
| Average age | 58 | 48 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 44.7% Female, 55.3% | Male, 83.0% Female, 17.0% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 8.1% Unknown, 4.6% Hispanic or Latino, 14.6% Asian, 2.6% White, 69.1% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.1% | Black or African American, 12.7% Unknown, 4.6% Hispanic or Latino, 19.9% Asian, 3.5% White, 58.5% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.8% |
| LGBT Percentage | 9% | 4% |