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The differences between school 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 $37,607 average annual salary of a school bus driver.
The top three skills for a school bus driver include vehicle inspections, customer service and safety rules. The most important skills for a transportation driver are CDL, DOT, and tractor trailer.
| School Bus Driver | Transportation Driver | |
| Yearly salary | $37,607 | $43,236 |
| Hourly rate | $18.08 | $20.79 |
| Growth rate | 5% | 4% |
| Number of jobs | 112,230 | 1,006,562 |
| Job satisfaction | 1.5 | - |
| Most common degree | High School Diploma, 35% | High School Diploma, 38% |
| Average age | 58 | 48 |
| Years of experience | - | 2 |
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 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.
School bus drivers and transportation drivers have different pay scales, as shown below.
| School Bus Driver | Transportation Driver | |
| Average salary | $37,607 | $43,236 |
| Salary range | Between $30,000 And $46,000 | Between $26,000 And $70,000 |
| Highest paying City | Springfield, MA | Cheyenne, WY |
| Highest paying state | Massachusetts | Wyoming |
| Best paying company | Epic Systems | West Tennessee Healthcare |
| Best paying industry | Education | - |
There are a few differences between a school bus driver and a transportation driver in terms of educational background:
| School Bus Driver | Transportation Driver | |
| Most common degree | High School Diploma, 35% | High School Diploma, 38% |
| Most common major | Business | Business |
| Most common college | - | - |
Here are the differences between school bus drivers' and transportation drivers' demographics:
| School Bus Driver | Transportation Driver | |
| Average age | 58 | 48 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 44.7% Female, 55.3% | Male, 72.8% Female, 27.2% |
| 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, 12.8% 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% |