As parents across the U.S. continue to grapple with the increasing bus service cuts, many parents are turning to ride-hailing apps for kids in order to fill the void left by the traditional yellow bus.
What’s New
The decline in school bus services has accelerated over the last decade. According to a Federal Highway Administration report, only 28 percent of U.S. students relied on school buses in 2022, down from 36 percent in 2017. In major districts like Chicago Public Schools, which is the nation’s fourth largest district, cuts are significant.
Chicago Public Schools have significantly curbed bus service in recent years. While it still offers rides for disabled and homeless students, in line with a federal mandate, most families are on their own with just 17,000 of the district’s 325,000 students are eligible for school bus rides.
Why It Matters
Families with financial means often adapt by using public transportation or adjusting their schedules, but many people lack these options as Erin Rose Schubert, a volunteer for the CPS Parents for Buses advocacy group, noted.
“The people who had the money and the privilege were able to figure out other situations like rearranging their work schedules or public transportation,” she said. “People who didn’t, some had to pull their kids out of school.”
Charles Rex Arbogast/AP
What To Know
In response to the decline in bus services, startups like HopSkipDrive and Kango are gaining traction, offering ride-hailing services that cater specifically to students. HopSkipDrive, launched by three mothers in Los Angeles, partners directly with over 600 school districts across 13 states to provide transportation.
“Those bus driver shortages are not really going away,” HopSkipDrive CEO Joanna McFarland said to The Associated Press (AP). “This is a structural change in the industry we need to get serious about addressing.”
Kango, a competitor to HopSkipDrive that operates in California and Arizona, blends traditional ride share with enhanced responsibilities, such as escorting children with disabilities to school.
“This is not just a curbside-to-curbside, three-minute situation,” Kango CEO Sara Schaer told the AP. “You are responsible for getting that kid to and from school. That’s not the same as transporting an adult or DoorDashing somebody’s lunch or dinner.”
For Ismael El-Amin in Chicago, the idea for a carpooling app, Piggyback Network, came to life during a morning commute. While driving his daughter to her North Side school, El-Amin noticed another parent on the same congested route. Realizing the inefficiency of countless parents taking separate trips, he launched an app connecting families for school rides.
Piggyback Network allows parents to book rides with fellow parents, offering a community-driven alternative. With costs averaging $0.80 per mile, users gain flexibility while earning credits for their own children’s rides.
What People Are Saying
“This is an opportunity for kids to not be late to school,” 15-year-old Takia Phillips, a regular user of Piggyback Network, told the AP.
Meanwhile, for families like that of retired Chicago police officer Sabrina Beck, ride share solutions are essential. Concerned about crime, Beck avoids public transit, driving not only her son to Whitney Young High School but also volunteers through PiggyBack to drive another student who had qualified for the selective magnet school but had no way to get there.
“To have the opportunity to go and then to miss it because you don’t have the transportation, that is so detrimental,” Beck said to the AP. “Options like this are extremely important.”
Similarly, Jazmine Dillard, a working parent in Chicago, turned to Piggyback Network when her children’s bus service was canceled.
“We had to kind of pivot and find a way to make it to work on time as well as get them to school on time,” she said, per the AP.
What Happens Next
With no clear resolution to the bus service shortage in sight, innovative rideshare solutions are poised to play a growing role in school transportation. Yet, challenges remain, including regulations limiting services in some states.
This article includes reporting from The Associated Press.
