ALBEMARLE COUNTY, Va. (CBS19 NEWS) -- When Albemarle County started school about three weeks ago, about a thousand students didn't have bus service to or from school. Now that number is 391.

"We've reduced the number of open routes from 12 to six fully open routes, there are another four routes that have morning or afternoon service," division spokesperson Phil Giaramita said.

He said the transportation team is evaluating bus routes almost daily, seeing who's riding and who's not.

This year, 10,000 families said they needed service, which was a 40 percent increase from last year.

"It's a pretty complicated process because the county itself has 550 bus routes," Giaramita said.

He said this week’s changes should take the waitlist below 300 by next week.

But Giaramita says the hardest part is recruiting and retaining drivers. He said they recently lost one to a private company.

"For a while, our competition was anyone offering a part-time job. That could be any retail or any type of business. Now it's more intense. It's anyone who has a need for someone with a CDL, and there are a lot of private businesses," he said.  

He said the drivers they're getting are signing up because they want to help the schools out.