# School Bus Monitors

US SOC code 33-9094. Markdown version of https://futurehistory.earth/timeline/33-9094

Also called: Bus monitor, Bus aide, School bus aide, Transportation aide, Special education bus monitor.

## In brief

In May 2025, [BLS](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm25nat.zip) counted **78,420** US school bus monitors, with median pay of **$35,100** a year. Of the BLS counts since 2021, the May 2025 count is the highest. The earliest figure here is [an estimate](https://web.archive.org/web/20230418140807/https://www.csba.org/-/media/CSBA/Files/GovernanceResources/GovernanceBriefs/201405GBSpecialEdTransportation.ashx) of **25,000** from 1990, not measured the same way as today's count. The last full technology era for school bus monitors: Onboard DVR cameras and GPS routing software, 2000 to 2018.

## What the sources say

### Official outlook

BLS projects employment to decline 1.9% from 2025 to 2035. Source: [BLS Employment Projections 2025-35](https://data.bls.gov/projections/nationalMatrix?queryParams=33-9094&ioType=o).

### AI exposure studies

- **19.4%** of this job's tasks are exposed to large language models. Not a forecast of job losses. [Eloundou and others, 2023](https://github.com/openai/GPTs-are-GPTs/blob/main/data/occ_level.csv)

Data as of BLS OEWS May 2025; BLS Employment Projections 2025-35. BLS publishes these counts as yearly survey snapshots and cautions against reading them as a precise trend.

## School Bus Monitors employment and pay by year

- On record since: 1930
- Latest US employment: 78,420 (May 2025). Source: BLS OEWS May 2025 [3]
- Latest US median pay: $35,100 (May 2025). Source: BLS OEWS May 2025 [5]
- Outlook: -1.9% by 2035. Source: BLS Employment Projections 2025-35 [12]

### All 7 years of cited US data

| Year | US employment | Annual pay (median unless marked) | Source |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1990 | 25,000 (estimate) | n/a | Est., CSBA Governance Brief [1] |
| 2000 | 45,000 (estimate) | $14,500 (estimate) | Est., U.S. Department of Education IDEA Q&A [2] |
| 2021 | 55,310 | $29,100 | BLS OEWS May 2021 [3] |
| 2022 | 64,100 | $29,880 | BLS OEWS May 2022 [3] |
| 2023 | 72,320 | $33,130 | BLS OEWS May 2023 [3] |
| 2024 | 72,140 | $34,980 | BLS OEWS May 2024 [3] |
| 2025 | 78,420 | $35,100 | BLS OEWS May 2025 [3] |

## Sources (37)

### Employment series

1. [CSBA Governance Brief -- Special Education Pupil Transportation (April 2014; IEP-driven transportation mandate under IDEA)](https://web.archive.org/web/20230418140807/https://www.csba.org/-/media/CSBA/Files/GovernanceResources/GovernanceBriefs/201405GBSpecialEdTransportation.ashx), California School Boards Association
2. [U.S. Department of Education IDEA Q&A -- Questions and Answers on Transportation (November 2009)](https://sites.ed.gov/idea/files/OMB_08-0101_Transportation-11-4-09_FINAL.pdf), U.S. Department of Education
3. BLS OEWS, national cross-industry estimates (flat file), Bureau of Labor Statistics. Editions: [2021](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm21nat.zip), [2022](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm22nat.zip), [2023](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm23nat.zip), [2024](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm24nat.zip), [2025](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm25nat.zip)

### Wage series

4. [U.S. Department of Education IDEA Q&A -- Questions and Answers on Transportation (background context on transportation services workforce)](https://sites.ed.gov/idea/files/OMB_08-0101_Transportation-11-4-09_FINAL.pdf), U.S. Department of Education
5. BLS OEWS, national cross-industry estimates (flat file), Bureau of Labor Statistics. Editions: [2021](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm21nat.zip), [2022](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm22nat.zip), [2023](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm23nat.zip), [2024](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm24nat.zip), [2025](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm25nat.zip)

### Tool eras

6. [School Bus Fleet -- Decade by Decade: 50 Years of Pupil Transportation History](https://www.schoolbusfleet.com/articles/decade-by-decade-50-years-of-pupil-transportation-history), School Bus Fleet
7. [NASDPTS -- History of the National Congress on School Transportation (NCST convened 1970, 1980, 1985)](https://nasdpts.org/history-of-ncst), National Association of State Directors of Pupil Transportation Services
8. [Transfinder -- How School Bus Design Has Evolved Over the Years (fleet technology history)](https://www.transfinder.com/resources/how-school-bus-design-has-evolved-over-the-years), Transfinder
9. [EdTech Magazine -- Physical Security Technology Keeps School Buses Safe (2026)](https://edtechmagazine.com/k12/article/2026/03/physical-security-technology-keeps-school-buses-safe), EdTech Magazine
10. [Coram AI -- School Bus Safety and Security Guide (2026)](https://www.coram.ai/post/school-bus-safety-security), Coram AI
11. [Safe Fleet -- Enhancing Student Safety: AI-Driven Solutions for the School Bus Danger Zone (2025)](https://www.safefleet.net/blog/enhancing-student-safety-ai-driven-solutions-for-school-bus-danger-zone/), Safe Fleet

### Forecasts and exposure studies

12. [BLS Employment Projections 2025-35, National Employment Matrix: 33-9094 School bus monitors (2025: 76.7 thousand; 2035: 75.3 thousand; -1.9%)](https://data.bls.gov/projections/nationalMatrix?queryParams=33-9094&ioType=o), Bureau of Labor Statistics
13. [Eloundou, Manning, Mishkin & Rock (2023), "GPTs are GPTs", occupation-level exposure data occ\_level.csv (O\*NET-SOC 33-9094.00, human-rated β 0.194)](https://github.com/openai/GPTs-are-GPTs/blob/main/data/occ_level.csv), OpenAI

### Historical notes

14. [School Bus Fleet -- Decade by Decade: 50 Years of Pupil Transportation History (1950s section)](https://www.schoolbusfleet.com/articles/decade-by-decade-50-years-of-pupil-transportation-history), School Bus Fleet
15. [Wikipedia -- Education for All Handicapped Children Act (PL 94-142, November 29, 1975)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Education_for_All_Handicapped_Children_Act), Wikipedia
16. [Background and History of IDEA in Special Education -- Undivided (federal IDEA history overview)](https://undivided.io/resources/background-and-history-of-idea-in-special-education-116), Undivided
17. [U.S. Department of Education IDEA Q&A -- Questions and Answers on Transportation (November 2009)](https://sites.ed.gov/idea/files/OMB_08-0101_Transportation-11-4-09_FINAL.pdf), U.S. Department of Education
18. [BLS -- 2018 Standard Occupational Classification System (33-9094 School Bus Monitors new code)](https://www.bls.gov/soc/2018/major_groups.htm), Bureau of Labor Statistics
19. [EPI -- The school bus driver shortage has improved slightly but continues to stress K-12 public education (2023)](https://www.epi.org/blog/the-school-bus-driver-shortage-has-improved-slightly-but-continues-to-stress-k-12-public-education/), Economic Policy Institute
20. [EPI -- The school bus driver shortage remains severe: Without job quality improvements, workers, children, and parents will suffer (2022)](https://www.epi.org/blog/the-school-bus-driver-shortage-remains-severe-without-job-quality-improvements-workers-children-and-parents-will-suffer/), Economic Policy Institute

### Predecessors & successors

21. [School Bus Fleet -- Decade by Decade: 50 Years of Pupil Transportation History](https://www.schoolbusfleet.com/articles/decade-by-decade-50-years-of-pupil-transportation-history), School Bus Fleet

### Present-day analysis

- [O\*NET 29.0 -- School Bus Monitors (33-9094.00)](https://www.onetonline.org/link/summary/33-9094.00), accessed 2026-06-05
- [Eloundou et al. 2024 -- GPTs are GPTs (Science)](https://arxiv.org/abs/2303.10130), accessed 2026-06-05
- [Data USA -- School Bus Monitors workforce profile 2024](https://datausa.io/profile/soc/school-bus-monitors), accessed 2026-06-05
- [BLS OOH -- Bus Drivers and Other Transportation Workers 2024-34](https://www.bls.gov/ooh/transportation-and-material-moving/bus-drivers.htm), accessed 2026-06-05
- [EdTech Magazine -- Physical Security Technology Keeps School Buses Safe (2026)](https://edtechmagazine.com/k12/article/2026/03/physical-security-technology-keeps-school-buses-safe), accessed 2026-06-05
- [Coram AI -- School Bus Safety and Security Guide (2026)](https://www.coram.ai/post/school-bus-safety-security), accessed 2026-06-05
- [School Bus Fleet -- Beyond the Dash: Safety Tech (2025)](https://www.schoolbusfleet.com/articles/beyond-the-dash-safety-tech-helping-drivers-see-it-all), accessed 2026-06-05
- [Safe Fleet -- AI-Driven Solutions for School Bus Danger Zone (2025)](https://www.safefleet.net/blog/enhancing-student-safety-ai-driven-solutions-for-school-bus-danger-zone/), accessed 2026-06-05

How to read these figures: https://futurehistory.earth/methodology. Every figure links to its own source; gaps stay gaps.