SCHOOL TRANSPORTATION; WAGES;

SCHOOLS - TRANSPORTATION;

You asked for the average hourly wage for school bus drivers in Connecticut.

There are 35 school bus companies operating in the state and according to the state Department of Labor (DOL) the average hourly wage in 2002 was $ 12. 50. Hourly wages range between $ 9. 50 and $ 15. 85. In 1999 the average hourly wage was $ 10. 01, according to DOL.

The DOL determines the average hourly wage through a survey the federal Bureau of Labor Statistics requires it to do, according to John McCarthy, DOL’s legislative liaison.

The Connecticut School Transportation Association (COSTA) also periodically does wage surveys and Robin L. Leeds, COSTA executive director, indicated her organization is currently conducting one and will make the information available when it is complete. Leeds noted that in the last few years a number of Fairfield County school districts gave drivers hourly raises of 20% or more in part due to the bus driver shortage in that area. She expects to find that districts in other parts of the state have given smaller raises. This report will be updated when that information is available.

OLR report 2001-R-0236 (link: http: //cgalites/2001/rpt/olr/htm/2001-r-0236. htm) includes the results of a 2000 COSTA bus driver wage survey that indicated an average starting hourly wage of $ 10. 40 and an average top wage of $ 12. 96.

JM: ts