# Will school bus drivers be replaced by AI? Updated October 2026 School bus drivers score 25 of 100 for AI exposure. 64% of their task time still needs a person. AI can do 6% today and speed up another 30%. - **6%** AI can do it - **30%** AI helps - **64%** Needs a person Low exposure Lower than 71% of the 923 occupations we scored. ## Task by task We graded 17 tasks, listed here from most to least exposed. AI can do 1 of them today, speeds up 5 and leaves 11 to people. | Task | AI exposure | | --- | --- | | Prepare and submit reports that may include the number of students or trips, hours worked, mileage, or fuel consumption. Trip, hours, and mileage reports compile easily from logs. | 70% AI can do it | | Report any bus malfunctions or needed repairs. AI can draft the malfunction report from notes. | 50% AI helps | | Record bus routes. Route data is mostly captured by GPS and dispatch software. | 50% AI helps | | Read maps and follow written and verbal geographic directions. GPS apps give directions, reducing map reading effort. | 40% AI helps | | Report delinquent student behaviors to school administration. AI can draft incident notes, but judgement stays human. | 35% AI helps | ## How school bus drivers compare All occupations (923) Transportation and material moving (52) **School bus drivers score 25**, marked by the dark line. Each dot is a score, darker where more occupations share it. The short marks show the averages, 37 for all occupations and 25 for transportation and material moving. ## Pay and outlook in the US Median pay $47,920 a year, May 2025 People employed 402,930 in the US, May 2025 Projected change in jobs +0.7% from 2024 to 2034 ## Skills to build - Hold a commercial driver's license with school bus endorsement - Drive a full school bus route in live traffic - Practice first aid on a manikin at each recertification - Check trip and mileage reports in Microsoft Windows before submitting - Correct route detours in AOL MapQuest when GPS misreads - Supervise students at bus stops and road crossings ## Safer roles nearby 5 related occupations with lower scores. - [Crossing guards24 out of 100](https://www.aigentcy.com/ai-exposure/crossing-guards/) - [Ambulance drivers13 out of 100](https://www.aigentcy.com/ai-exposure/ambulance-drivers/) - [Locomotive engineers22 out of 100](https://www.aigentcy.com/ai-exposure/locomotive-engineers/) - [Railroad brakemen12 out of 100](https://www.aigentcy.com/ai-exposure/railroad-brakemen/) - [Rail yard engineers19 out of 100](https://www.aigentcy.com/ai-exposure/rail-yard-engineers/) ## Questions about school bus drivers and AI Will AI replace school bus drivers? Partly. About 2 in 10 working hours go to tasks AI can already do, mostly preparing trip, hours, and mileage reports and writing up bus malfunctions. Driving the route, guiding children across roads, and checking students on and off the bus stay with people because they need a person physically present on the road. Which school bus driver tasks is AI taking over? Trip and mileage reports score 70 on exposure, the highest in this job, because the student counts, hours, and miles already sit in logs that AI can compile. Malfunction reports and route recording both score 50, since AI can draft a repair write-up from driver notes and GPS and dispatch software already capture routes. Which school bus driver tasks stay human? Escorting small children across roads scores 2 on exposure, the lowest on the list, because it needs a physical presence at the curb. Keeping the bus interior clean scores 3 because it takes hands on seats and floors, and driving in traffic scores 5 because live driving needs a person behind the wheel. How can school bus drivers stay valuable? Keep a commercial driver's license with a school bus endorsement and a clean driving record. Practice first aid on a manikin, since AI can teach the facts but the skill needs repetition. Check trip and mileage reports in Microsoft Windows before submitting them, and fix detours in AOL MapQuest when GPS routes fail. ## Related jobs - [School bus monitors28 out of 100](https://www.aigentcy.com/ai-exposure/school-bus-monitors/) - [Bus drivers28 out of 100](https://www.aigentcy.com/ai-exposure/bus-drivers/) - [Chauffeurs30 out of 100](https://www.aigentcy.com/ai-exposure/chauffeurs/) - [Light truck drivers32 out of 100](https://www.aigentcy.com/ai-exposure/light-truck-drivers/) ## Next steps for school bus drivers - ### Check your job Your job title is a rough guide. Your actual tasks decide your score. Paste your job description or CV and see which of your tasks AI can do. [Check your job](https://www.aigentcy.com/tools/ai-exposure-checker/) [Check your CV](https://www.aigentcy.com/tools/cv-checker/) ### Check which roles in your team AI can take on We map your team's tasks, show what AI can do today and build the automations that pay back first. [Book an AI audit](https://www.aigentcy.com/audit/) ## Related topics - [**Jobs AI can't replace**Cement masons score lowest, at 8.](https://www.aigentcy.com/ai-exposure/jobs-ai-cant-replace/) - [**Jobs most at risk from AI**Proofreaders score highest, at 76.](https://www.aigentcy.com/ai-exposure/jobs-most-exposed-to-ai/) - [**High-paying jobs with low AI exposure**Radiologists earn a median $420,860 and score 46.](https://www.aigentcy.com/ai-exposure/high-paying-jobs-low-ai-exposure/) - [**Entry-level jobs with low AI exposure**Cement masons need little prior training and score 8.](https://www.aigentcy.com/ai-exposure/entry-level-jobs-low-ai-exposure/) - [**Jobs AI speeds up the most**For natural sciences managers, AI speeds up 96% of task time.](https://www.aigentcy.com/ai-exposure/jobs-ai-speeds-up/) - [**AI and jobs in Malta**15 iGaming roles graded task by task.](https://www.aigentcy.com/ai-exposure/malta/) - [**Skills that keep work human**The skills to build in the jobs AI changes least.](https://www.aigentcy.com/ai-exposure/skills/) - [**Jobs A to Z**Every job we publish, by first letter.](https://www.aigentcy.com/ai-exposure/jobs/) - [**AI exposure by industry**Average scores for 22 occupation groups.](https://www.aigentcy.com/ai-exposure/industries/) - [**Write a CV screening software can read**How applicant tracking systems read a CV, and what to change.](https://www.aigentcy.com/ai-exposure/cv-screening-guide/) - [**AI for businesses**The tasks to automate first in each team and industry.](https://www.aigentcy.com/ai-for/) - [**How we score AI exposure**The grading, the weights and every source.](https://www.aigentcy.com/ai-exposure/methodology/) Occupation data from the O\*NET 30.3 Database by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA), used under [CC BY 4.0](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) and modified by Aigentcy. O\*NET® is a trademark of USDOL/ETA. Wage, employment and projection data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. EU occupation names from ESCO, European Commission. AI usage signals from the Anthropic Economic Index (CC BY) and Microsoft Research (CC BY 4.0). [Methodology and sources](https://www.aigentcy.com/ai-exposure/methodology/). Scores © Aigentcy. Quote them with a link to the page.