I don't think anyone expected the regular school bus drivers to assist in this emergency, but it's not rocket science to drive a bus -- they're all automatic transmission anymore. There should have been a plan in place to provide people to drive these busses in an emergency -- perhaps city employees of some type or another.
I bet any number of people would have volunteered to drive, if it meant getting the heck out of the city...
That 17 year old (?) kid managed to drive one all the way to HOuston...(I forgot his actual age)..picking up passengers a long the way...and BEAT the legit buses. LOL