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The differences between school bus drivers and transit 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 $36,195 average annual salary of a transit driver.
The top three skills for a school bus driver include vehicle inspections, customer service and safety rules. The most important skills for a transit driver are reliable transportation, CDL, and defensive driving.
| School Bus Driver | Transit Driver | |
| Yearly salary | $37,607 | $36,195 |
| Hourly rate | $18.08 | $17.40 |
| Growth rate | 5% | 5% |
| Number of jobs | 112,230 | 362,919 |
| Job satisfaction | 1.5 | - |
| Most common degree | High School Diploma, 35% | High School Diploma, 33% |
| Average age | 58 | 55 |
| 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.
A Transit Driver is tasked with driving passengers on already predetermined and specific routes along suburban or city streets and ensuring that they get to their destinations. He/She typically collects bus fares or tickets from passengers, answers questions on schedules and routes, and reports any traffic disruption or accidents to a central dispatcher. Aside from driving, you will need to also carry out routine check-ups of your bus tires, lights, oil, as well as perform other basic maintenance. You will also need to keep passengers informed of delays.
School bus drivers and transit drivers have different pay scales, as shown below.
| School Bus Driver | Transit Driver | |
| Average salary | $37,607 | $36,195 |
| Salary range | Between $30,000 And $46,000 | Between $27,000 And $47,000 |
| Highest paying City | Springfield, MA | West Haven, CT |
| Highest paying state | Massachusetts | New Jersey |
| Best paying company | Epic Systems | Keurig Dr Pepper |
| Best paying industry | Education | Transportation |
There are a few differences between a school bus driver and a transit driver in terms of educational background:
| School Bus Driver | Transit Driver | |
| Most common degree | High School Diploma, 35% | High School Diploma, 33% |
| Most common major | Business | Business |
| Most common college | - | - |
Here are the differences between school bus drivers' and transit drivers' demographics:
| School Bus Driver | Transit Driver | |
| Average age | 58 | 55 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 44.7% Female, 55.3% | Male, 59.3% Female, 40.7% |
| 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, 25.1% Unknown, 4.1% Hispanic or Latino, 17.0% Asian, 4.9% White, 47.7% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.2% |
| LGBT Percentage | 9% | 9% |