“Good morning.”

“Morning.”

“Have a great day.”

“You too.”

These are the simple conversations that greet students as they board their school buses every morning. It’s a common routine that has become the norm for millions of students across the country.

Although students often don’t think twice about who drives them to school every day, bus drivers are vital to the success of students and schools. Every school district needs a bus department to provide transportation for their students. Bus drivers have one of the most significant impacts in a student’s everyday routine because without them students who live far are unable to safely arrive and leave their schools.

Bus drivers don’t get enough credit for how important they truly are. The job requires them to be able to drive under constant distractions and to present friendly faces to the students they are responsible for. They are also the people liable for making sure students make it on time to school and get home at a reasonable time.

Bus drivers are people too. Not only do they have their own lives, they also have their own sets of issues to deal with. Students have become too comfortable with disrespecting the hard working adults who drive them to school.

Today society has given service jobs a negative connotation and this has resulted in a lack of respect for these positions. Students often have the wrong misconceptions when it comes to bus drivers. While some bus drivers may not necessarily enjoy the job, they are still able to get through the day and put smiles on their faces.

The occupation of a bus driver requires someone to be accountable, trustworthy and outgoing. It takes a certain type of person to successfully fill these requirements. Just because they do not hold a big title, does not mean that they do not have an important job to do. Bus drivers are just as vital to school districts as teachers because both positions have key roles in lives of students and how schools function.