A collision between a double-decker bus and a city bus in Manhattan on Thursday left dozens injured and at least 18 people requiring hospitalization for non-life-threatening injuries, according to the New York City Fire Department.

First responders received notice of the crash on the borough’s east side shortly after 7 p.m. Thursday, said FDNY Deputy Chief Kevin Murphy.

“The first two units arrived to find two buses involved in what appeared to be a serious accident, complicated by the fact that one of them was a double-decker bus,” Murphy said at a news conference at the scene.

Ropes and ladders were used to assist passengers with getting off the buses, officials said.

“Any time you have two buses involved you have a significant number of patients that likely need to be treated,” Murphy said. “So seeing that quantity of people right away, I think the units did a very good job getting them off the bus quickly and taken to the appropriate resources.”

Eighteen patients were transported to area hospitals but none have life-threatening injuries, the fire department said.

“Many injuries are just cuts, bruises, scrapes, some suspected fractures. Some head and neck injuries as well,” said EMS Deputy Chief Paul Hopper. “We’re all quite fortunate it was not much worse.”

Another 63 people were needing assessment from a fire department doctor, Hopper said, adding, “We expect that they will refuse medical attention and be seen by our doctor who is on the scene and on the bus evaluating patients.”

It is not yet clear what caused the crash, fire officials say.

A spokesperson for the Metropolitan Transportation Authority said there was a crash at 7:17 p.m. on bus route X27 and referred CNN to the fire department for further details. Police referred CNN to the fire department when asked for comment.

NEW YORK CITY — Authorities in New York City said a man was arrested after he allegedly hijacked a city bus with a fake gun Thursday morning.

The New York Police Department said at approximately 7:23 a.m., a 44-year-old man ran in front of a city bus with what appeared to be a firearm in his hand near 199th Street and Linden Boulevard in Cambria Heights.

Police said the man then boarded the Queens bus, in which the bus driver immediately opened all the doors to let a dozen passengers off.

According to police, the man told the driver he was being chased and directed him to continue driving.

Police said at around 7:36 a.m., the bus driver jumped out of the driver-side window near 232nd Street and Linden Boulevard.

According to police, the man took control of the bus before it struck a utility pole.

Responding officers were able to arrest the suspect after he exited the bus, police said.

Police said the driver and the suspect were taken to area hospitals for minor injuries.

An imitation pistol, which appears to be a BB gun, was recovered on the bus, police said.

Police said charges against the suspect are pending, and their investigation is still ongoing.

CHICAGO — A massive shortage of school bus drivers is causing in a major bump in the road to reopening schools. Without drivers, some bus routes are being canceled, causing tens of thousands of students to be stranded.

One district is paying parents $700 for each child they drive to school themselves. Another is offering families mileage reimbursement.

From Southern California to the Northeast, down to Florida, a nationwide bus driver shortage has reached a crisis level for school districts across the country. It’s the worst some have ever seen.

“I think student transportation is really at a breaking point. We have had a bus driver shortage for years, but COVID has really accelerated those trends,” said Joanna McFarland, CEO and founder of HopSkipDrive, a school ride service that operates a fleet of cars and SUVs in nine states.

The company is a sort of rideshare for kids.

“I think parents feel that this is a local problem, because they feel it with their own school district. But this is something that we're seeing across the country,” McFarland said.

Thousands of bus driver positions remain unfilled as older drivers leave. It’s a simmering problem, say experts, exacerbated by the pandemic.

“The average age of a school bus driver put them close to being in retirement, but also put them in a really vulnerable population for COVID. And so, a number of school bus drivers just retired,” said John Bailey, a non-resident senior fellow who studies transportation at the American Enterprise Institute.

In a March survey by HopSkipDrive, more than 78% of school transportation professionals said the bus driver shortage was a problem for their schools.

Last week, the Pittsburgh Public Schools district announced it would have to delay the opening of school for two weeks due to the transportation crisis. Across Florida, dozens of districts are struggling to staff bus routes, and in Illinois, one company is offering a $3,000 signing bonus for open bus driver positions.

So far, there doesn’t appear to be a coordinated national effort to confront the current driver shortage. Some districts surveyed say it could be months before they get a handle on it.

“There just aren't enough drivers to drive enough buses to pick up enough kids,” said Bailey. “If we want to get kids back in person for in-person learning, we're going to have to address the school bus driver crisis and do it quickly.”

Bailey says there a couple of things that can be done to help mitigate the shortage.

Financial incentives, like hiring bonuses, could help. Governors could use a portion of the American Rescue Plan’s $350 billion to fund these benefits.

Bailey also says there should be an easing of regulatory pathways to bring on more drivers. It’s something that has been log-jammed by the lengthy process of getting a commercial driver’s license, which has only gotten longer due to COVID-19 DMV closures.

“And lastly, we should be looking at innovation,” said Bailey. “There's so many new innovators and entrepreneurs popping up.”

Entrepreneurs like McFarland say it’s time to think outside the box.

“We are feeling the severity of this problem right now, but this is not a problem that is going away. It really is here to stay, and we do need to get creative and really think about what the future of student transportation looks like.”

It’s a question many may be forced to consider in the coming weeks.

Upcoming changes in the way Cincinnati Metro charges bus fare will mean some riders will have to pay more while others will pay less.

Starting April 4, the transit agency will implement a plan officials say will simplify how Metro collects fares.

Under the current fare structure, Metro buses operate in six zones, with varying ticket prices based on which zone riders are traveling to or from. If a rider catches their Metro within Cincinnati city limits, the fare is $1.75; throughout the rest of the county, the cost is $2.65. Outside Hamilton County, the prices vary further.

The new system will eliminate zones altogether and instead operate with three basic fare amounts no matter where a rider catches the bus:

• Local routes in Hamilton County: $2
• Express routes in Hamilton County: $2.65
• Express routes in Butler, Clermont and Warren counties: $3.75 (Metro does not operate any non-express routes in these counties.)

The change means city bus riders will pay 25 cents more per ride under the new fare structure than they do now, and riders throughout the rest of the county will pay 65 cents less.

The change in fares is part of the transit agency's larger Reinventing Metro plan, which also includes route and schedule expansions, among other improvements to bus service throughout the county. In April of last year, county voters narrowly approved an 0.8% sales tax increase to generate more local funding for Cincinnati Metro bus service and road and bridge improvements along its routes.

The Reinventing Metro plan also introduces the following new fare options:

• $4.00 Hamilton County local service day pass (replacing the former Zone 1 day pass, priced at $4.50)
• $5.30 Hamilton County Express day pass
• $7.50 Suburban County Express day pass
• $10 5-ride Hamilton County local service ticket
• $2.00 half-fare day pass for eligible riders, including Fare Deal and Access riders, University of Cincinnati and Cincinnati State Community and Technical College students, UC staff, and children riders between 35 and 45 inches tall