By Blake Haas

BLOOMINGTON – It was a start your engines not only for First Student Buses, but for careers across Central Illinois.

Perspective drivers could drive a 40 foot bus around a course designed to give drivers hands-on experience and gain an outlook for how drivers in Unit 5 transport over 13,000 students and families during the school year.

“This is a big bus no big deal event, its a recruiting event, but we also want to tell people about how easy it is to drive a school bus,” said First Student Senior Location Manager Josh Goossen, who provides buses for Unit 5. “Some people are scared about driving a school bus and they are apprehensive. They don’t know if they can actually do the job and that is many things that we hear.”

After completing the course with a trainer, drivers could fill out a job application.

“The course itself he (the trainer) took his time to drive through the course and explain everything and all of the safety,” said Morris Denton Jr. a perspective driver.”I mean it was awesome, it was totally awesome.”

Goossen added that once drivers are hired, it could take up to three to four weeks before the driver is behind the wheel.

Blake Haas can be reached at [email protected].