Vaping among students isn't just an issue on school grounds anymore — it's riding the bus. Over the years, school buses have become another battleground in the fight against youth nicotine and drug use. 

Transportation leaders are increasingly scrutinizing vaping devices, as they're often discreet, fragrant, deceptively harmless-looking, and making their way into the hands of younger and younger students. 

According to the National Youth Tobacco Survey and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, e-cigarettes were the most used tobacco product among middle and high school students in the United States in 2024. 

At the time of reporting, almost 6% of U.S. students (equating to over 1.6 million) used vapes or e-cigarettes, including: 

• 410,000 (3.5%) middle school students. 

• 1.21 million (7.8%) high school students. 

Across the country, vaping severity varies from district to district. Some may encounter only one infraction a year, while others, like Jefferson County Schools, report a rise in vape use. 

"We are seeing a deeply concerning trend where elementary-aged students are now bringing vape pens on buses and sharing them with their peers," Heather Pindell, transportation supervisor at Jefferson County Schools in West Virginia, said. 

Although cigarette use has declined, vaping brings new health and safety risks to the school bus, like respiratory concerns, chemical exposure, and fire hazards. However, drivers encounter special challenges that help to conceal student vaping, such as tight spaces and hard-to-see behavior due to their focus on the road. 

As the school bus industry strives to catch vaping, more pressure is put on drivers, policymakers, and tech developers to find effective ways to detect and deter vaping in one of the most difficult settings to monitor. 

Catching Vaping in Action: What Works

Contrary to what students might believe, drivers don't have eyes on the back of their heads. 

Only a handful of detection methods are commonly used to catch vaping in the act, including smell, internal cameras, and student reporting. Smell remains the most effective trigger for drivers. 

"Our drivers are aware that most vapes have a typically sweet smell," Teena Mitchell, special needs transportation coordinator at Greenville (S.C.) County Schools, said. "Therefore, if the driver smells what they think is a vape, they notify the supervisor, and a video is pulled." 

Internal 360-degree cameras can catch vape clouds and hand movements, but they're not always conclusive, and the footage is not monitored 24/7. Some students even find loopholes under the watchful eye of a camera, like blowing the smoke into their sleeves. 

"Despite students trying to be discreet, vaping on school buses often comes to light because a fellow student reports it to the driver, which leads to further investigation," Pindell said. 

Transportation Director Jeff Halder from Pocahontas Area Community School in Iowa notes that it's important to let bus riders know that it's okay to tell the driver what is going on, especially if they smell or witness vaping on the bus. 

However, students may not fully understand the consequences of bringing a vape or e-cigarette to school. For Mitchell's district, vapes are a level two offence categorized similarly to tobacco under "alternative nicotine products." For Pindell, the consequences differ whether the vape pen contains nicotine or THC. 

These consequences vary but may include in-school or out-of-school suspension, bus suspension, expulsion, alternative placement, or law enforcement involvement (depending on the substance). 

The Next Frontier in Bus Vaping Prevention? 

What can be done outside student reporting or a driver's sense of smell? This question looms over the industry, but it doesn't have to for long. Certain kinds of tech, especially those suited for detecting changes in air quality, can act as another set of "eyes" in vaping situations. 

Consider Halo, a smart sensor commonly used in classrooms and school bathrooms, which can identify vaping, smoking, THC, and vape masking with real-time alerts. The technology integrates with current security systems and improves real-time monitoring, but why isn't it more commonly used on school buses? 

Applying Halo to moving vehicles may raise new installation concerns, such as power, mounting, and motion calibration, but some districts are beginning to ask if mobile applications are feasible. Although this type of technology can enhance detection beyond cameras and driver awareness, let's not forget what cameras have the potential to do, especially when these two tools join forces. 

With the use of artificial intelligence, Martin Staples, CEO of Transportant, explains that cameras can be trained to capture vaping or smoking on the bus. AI capabilities require training cameras with known examples of that behavior, like vaping (or hiding it), so the cameras of the future can consistently catch what drivers are simply unable to. 

In one example, Jason Salmons, the director of transportation for Bentonville School District in Arkansas, also happens to be a Transportant "super user." Salmons' district implemented Transportant's entire suite and is constantly finding ways to use the company's tools across operations. Salmons has a total of seven cameras on each bus, which undoubtedly comes in handy with monitoring bus behavior.

"If student reports of vaping or smoking come through the driver, we're going to look back at the video," Salmons said. "Our system allows us to look at live video too, so if incidents are reported several days in a row we will start watching bus rides live."

Building a Better Bus Culture 

Outside of technology, encouraging driver-student relationships that foster trust and openness are crucial. 

In general, it's important to train drivers to discuss the harm of vaping with students on a personal and public level, but empowering students to make smart choices can have a long-lasting impact. 

"I want my drivers to build positive relationships with each student," Pindell said. 

Encouraging students to speak up when they see concerning behavior can greatly help drivers maintain safety on the bus. 

"It is tough for the driver to gain awareness without other students making them aware," said Tim Flood, EVP at The Trans Group. 

Training doesn't have to stop there. Drivers can sharpen their awareness by using all their senses, learning to recognize the signs and smells associated with vaping. 

School bus discipline efforts can also be reinforced by school resource officers who collaborate closely with staff and a district's transportation department to maintain safe environments on the bus. 

For Bentonville, Salmons allows principals to review bus video to issue discipline because they are privy to a student's overall school career, not just the one incident. Live view also comes in handy with disciplinary action, as it can dissipate "different versions of the truth."

One recommended approach for districts looking to address vaping issues is to launch a school-supported campaign that emphasizes firm consequences and promotes awareness that drivers are trained to detect vaping behavior. The combination of enforcement and education can serve as a powerful deterrent. 

Vaping on school buses presents unique challenges, but districts are adapting with a mix of prevention, detection, and discipline. As detection tech evolves, schools may soon have new tools to support drivers in keeping riders safe as they transport them to and from school. 

Editor's Note: This article was originally published on August 14, 2025, and was updated on October 16, 2025, for continued relevancy on vaping/smoking on the school bus, including comments from Bentonville's Director of Transportation Jason Salmons.

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