
Talladega – Faced with a driver shortage, the Talladega City Schools have been getting creative to fix the delays in school bus routes.
According the Superintendent Dr. Quinton Lee and his staff worked before the start of school to streamline the bus routes to make drop-off more efficient. That’s a work in progress as school officials officials sent home a transportation survey to help further streamline routes, and they are using an AI tool that shows parents which bus their child should be on.
Recognizing the issue as one affecting school systems across the state, lawmakers passed a new state law this year allows retired drivers to return to work full-time without losing retirement benefits. Lee praised three such retired bus drivers who have been coming in and driving every day. The school bus system coordinates transportation for nearly 900 students in Talladega.