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As the shortage of school bus drivers spreads across the country, mostly due to fear of contagion with Covid- 19 , Massachusetts Governor Charlie Baker has deployed personnel from the National Guard to address the problem in your state, according to CBS News.
As of Tuesday, until 250 members of the Massachusetts National Guard were available to carry students to and from school to address staff shortages.
“Safe and reliable transportation to and from school every day is critical to the safety and education of our children,” Baker wrote on Twitter Monday.
The staff of the National Guard will drive students in special school transportation vans called 7D vehicles, and they will undergo vehicle training prior to become temporary drivers, the governor’s office said in a statement.
On Tuesday, 90 members of the National Guard began serving the school districts, including Chelsea, Lawrence, Lowell and Lynn.
The assistance of the Guards will not impede their duty to respond and help in emergencies. The cost of the mission will be reimbursed by the federal government, Baker said.
“We are grateful and grateful that someone was definitely thinking outside the box. box, ”Chelsea School Superintendent Almi Abeyta told CBS Boston. “When I got the call, I was like ‘oh that’s an interesting solution, yeah, okay!’”
Mission occurs in amid growing calls from local communities to address the shortage of school bus drivers in the state.
The Covid pandemic – 19 has alienated more people from the driving profession , indicating a bumpy road for key industries ranging from private transportation to delivery services.
This problem is especially acute in school districts facing a shortage of bus drivers, when the new academic year restored face-to-face classes in many schools across the country.
The data of the Bureau of Labor Statistics show the quantity number of drivers who were lost at the start of the coronavirus pandemic. Between March and April of 2020, the trucking industry lost more than 88, 000 jobs and passenger transit and ground transportation lost more than 185, 000 only in that month.
Nationally, the need for school bus drivers is expected to remain at “critical levels” over the next several months.