Will school bus monitors be replaced by AI?
Updated
School bus monitors score 28 of 100 for AI exposure. 78% of their task time still needs a person. AI can do 11% today and speed up another 11%.
- 11% AI can do it
- 11% AI helps
- 78% Needs a person
Low exposure
Lower than 66% of the 923 occupations we scored.
Task by task
We graded 18 tasks, listed here from most to least exposed. AI can do 2 of them today, speeds up 2 and leaves 14 to people.
| Task | AI exposure |
|---|---|
| Write and submit reports that include data such as the number of passengers or trips, hours worked, mileage driven, or fuel consumed. Trip, mileage and fuel reports largely pull from existing telematics data. | 70% AI can do it |
| Announce routes or stops. GPS and recorded stop announcements already handle most of this. | 60% AI can do it |
| Report delays, accidents, or other traffic and transportation situations to dispatchers or other bus drivers, using phones or mobile two-way radios. Radio or phone reporting is spoken; AI can help summarize incidents. | 35% AI helps |
| Talk to children's parents or guardians about problematic behaviors, emotional or developmental problems, or related issues. AI can draft notes and prep, but the parent talk is human. | 22% AI helps |
| Monitor the conduct of students to maintain discipline and safety. Live in-person conduct monitoring; cameras assist only slightly. | 18% Needs a person |
| Respond to students' questions, requests, or complaints. Live answers to children's questions and complaints on the bus. | 18% Needs a person |
| Direct students boarding and exiting the school bus. Live physical directing of students at the bus door. | 8% Needs a person |
| Direct students evacuating the bus during safety drills. Live in-person direction of students during evacuation drills. | 8% Needs a person |
| Prevent or defuse altercations between students. Defusing live altercations needs in-person judgment and physical presence. | 8% Needs a person |
| Assist children with disabilities or children with psychological, emotional, or behavioral issues with boarding and exiting the school bus. Hands-on physical help with disabled children boarding and exiting. | 5% Needs a person |
Show the other 8 tasks
| Task | AI exposure |
|---|---|
| Guide the driver when the bus is moving in reverse gear. Visual physical guidance of a reversing bus. | 5% Needs a person |
| Monitor for trains at railroad crossings and signal the bus driver when it is safe to proceed. Visual railroad crossing watch requires being physically present. | 5% Needs a person |
| Buckle seatbelts or fasten wheelchair tie-down straps to secure passengers for transportation. Physically fastening seatbelts and wheelchair straps on passengers. | 4% Needs a person |
| Clean school bus interiors by picking up waste, wiping down windows, or vacuuming. Physical cleaning of bus interior surfaces and waste. | 3% Needs a person |
| Escort young children across roads or highways. Physically escorting young children across roads safely. | 3% Needs a person |
| Evacuate students from the school bus in emergency situations. Physically evacuating students in real emergencies. | 3% Needs a person |
| Open and close school bus doors for students. Physically operating bus doors for students. | 3% Needs a person |
| Operate a wheelchair lift to load or unload wheelchairs. Physically operating a wheelchair lift safely. | 3% Needs a person |
How school bus monitors compare
All occupations (923)
Protective service (26)
Pay and outlook in the US
- Median pay
- $35,100 a year, May 2025
- People employed
- 78,420 in the US, May 2025
- Projected change in jobs
- -1.9% from 2024 to 2034
Skills to build
- Submit trip, mileage and fuel reports in web browser software
- Run pretrip and posttrip inspections and log defects
- Lead emergency evacuation drills and prepare students for them
- Write behavior incident notes for parent conferences
- Relay incident reports by two-way radio to dispatchers
Safer roles nearby
4 related occupations with lower scores.
Questions about school bus monitors and AI
Will AI replace school bus monitors?
Partly. About 2 in 10 working hours go to tasks AI can already do, mostly trip and mileage reports and stop announcements. Keeping order, helping children board and exit, and handling emergencies stay with people.
Which tasks is AI taking over?
Trip, mileage and fuel reports and stop announcements go first, with exposure scores of 70 and 60. Telematics data already holds passenger counts, miles driven and fuel used, so AI can fill most of the report. GPS and recorded messages already call most stops.
Which school bus monitor tasks stay human?
Physically escorting children across roads, operating wheelchair lifts and evacuating students all score 3 on exposure. These tasks need hands on equipment and a person who can act in a real emergency. Live conduct monitoring and answering children's questions score 18, because the bus is moving and the children are right there.
How can school bus monitors stay valuable?
Stay on the tasks that need a body and a judgment call. Run pretrip and posttrip inspections, and spot defects before the driver leaves the depot. Practice emergency evacuation drills until students move on cue. Use AI to draft incident notes, then handle the parent conversation yourself. Check route and stop changes in the web browser before each run.
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Next steps for school bus monitors
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