Eau Claire Area School District School Bus Driver Guide
No CDL required. Student Transit trains you with in-house trainers and covers your licensing costs.
🎁 Limited-time: + free Wisconsin CDL Passenger & School Bus study guide
Eau Claire Area School District is the eighth-largest district in Wisconsin, enrolling roughly 10,687 students across 23 schools. The district does not employ its own drivers. Its bus service is contracted to Student Transit - Eau Claire, Inc., a fourth-generation family company founded in 1939 that also serves the Altoona and Fall Creek districts. The Eau Claire operation runs a fleet of more than 90 buses from its terminal at 3339 Fehr Road, and the company recruits drivers throughout the year.
You apply to Student Transit, not the district, and a CDL is not required to apply. The company states that a commercial driver's license is not a barrier because it provides the training, uses its own in-house trainers, and covers required training and licensing costs. Student Transit has not published a starting wage, only that pay is competitive. This page covers the real Eau Claire process and what to confirm before you apply.
Eau Claire Area School District at a glance
The essentials, pulled from official sources. The full pay tables, the exact application walkthrough, and the school calendar are in the guide.
How to become a School Bus Driver in Eau Claire
The path in order. The guide expands every step with the exact forms, links, and figures for Eau Claire Area School District.
Confirm you qualify before you apply
Wisconsin sets 18 as the minimum age and 70 as the maximum for the school bus endorsement, with no state minimum for years of driving experience. Student Transit sets its own standard, so confirm it when you apply. You need a driving record that meets the company's safe-driver standards. A high school diploma or GED is preferred, not required.
Apply to Student Transit, not the district
Eau Claire Area School District employs no bus drivers. Apply through drivingourfuture.family using the "Apply Now" button, or apply in person at the terminal. Complete the full application and certify your driving history accurately.
Interview with the contractor
Call Student Transit at 715-839-5116 or visit the terminal at 3339 Fehr Road during office hours, Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. No in-person job fair dates are published, so contact the company directly.
Clear the post-offer screenings
After a conditional offer you complete the Wisconsin Department of Justice criminal-history search for the school bus endorsement along with the MV3740 self-certification, a DOT 5-panel drug screen, and a DOT physical with a Medical Examiner's Certificate. Wisconsin also requires its own annual school bus driver physical, including 20/40 vision in each eye and a 70-degree field of vision. Confirm with Student Transit who pays for these.
Earn your CDL through paid contractor training
You need a Class B CDL with Passenger (P) and School Bus (S) endorsements. Student Transit provides paid training with its own in-house trainers and covers the required training and licensing costs. Whether trainees earn the full driver rate or a separate training rate, and the program length, are not published, so ask before you start.
Ride with a trainer, then drive your route
New drivers ride with experienced trainers until they know their route, then drive solo. Drivers can pick up substitute shifts and charter trips for extra hours, and weekends and holidays are optional. The work follows the school calendar, with summers and school breaks off.
What's in the full Eau Claire Area School District guide
35+ pages, twelve chapters, written in plain English — everything above in full detail, plus the parts that change year to year.
Right now, includes a free Wisconsin CDL Passenger & School Bus endorsement study guide — the exact material on the two written tests, so you pass the first time. Bundled with your Eau Claire Area School District guide at no extra cost, for a limited time.
The real pay tables
Every step of the Eau Claire Area School District pay scale, benefits, and the split-shift schedule — the numbers that decide if this fits your life.
The application, walked through
Exactly what to submit and which documents to attach, so you are not knocked out on a technicality.
The interview
The three things every interviewer is really asking, and what to highlight. (Free in the sample.)
Screenings & paid CDL training
Every screening after your offer, who pays for what, and how you are trained toward your CDL.
The school calendar
This year's Eau Claire Area School District calendar — work days, holidays, and breaks — so you know your real schedule.
Managing a bus full of kids
The passenger-management techniques veteran drivers swear by. (Also free in the sample.)
See inside before you buy
A few real pages from the manual — the interview and passenger-management chapters — so you can judge the quality yourself.
Eau Claire Area School District bus driver questions
Who hires School Bus Drivers in Eau Claire, and do I need a CDL?
Student Transit - Eau Claire, Inc. holds the contract for the district's bus service, so Student Transit hires, trains and pays you, not Eau Claire Area School District. You do not need a CDL to apply. The company states that a CDL is not a barrier because it provides the training and covers required training and licensing costs.
How much do School Bus Drivers make in Eau Claire?
Student Transit does not publish a starting wage. Its jobs page advertises only competitive hourly pay, so ask for the exact rate and the trainee rate when you call 715-839-5116. Route drivers usually work 2 to 3 shifts a day, each paid at a 2-hour minimum, and substitute and charter work add variable hours.
Does Student Transit offer a sign-on bonus or benefits?
No sign-on, training-completion or retention bonus is advertised. The listed incentives are paid training with in-house trainers, covered costs for required training and licensing, a 401(k), a part-time schedule, optional weekends and holidays, an on-site fitness room, and the option to bring children on routes. Contractor drivers are not covered by the Wisconsin Retirement System, and no union representing these drivers is documented.
What's the free CDL study guide?
For a limited time, every district guide comes bundled with a free study guide for your state's CDL Passenger and School Bus endorsements — the two written tests you'll take. It covers exactly what's on those tests so you can pass the first time, at no extra cost.
Is this an official guide from the School District?
No. It is an independent preparation guide, not affiliated with or endorsed by any School District. It organizes the public information into one clear manual so you do not have to dig for it.
How do I get the guide after I pay?
Instantly. Checkout takes about a minute, then you get a download link on the screen and by email. It is a PDF you can open on any phone, tablet, or computer and keep.
Get hired in Eau Claire Area School District.
The whole hiring process in one guide — pay, forms, contacts, and the calendar, all in order.