Summary
School districts across the U.S. are reducing bus services due to driver shortages and shifting transportation responsibilities to families, disproportionately affecting low-income households.
In Chicago, where only 17,000 of 325,000 students are eligible for buses, parents are turning to alternatives like ride-hailing apps.
Startups such as Piggyback Network and HopSkipDrive provide school transportation by connecting parents or contracting directly with districts, offering safety measures like real-time tracking and driver vetting.
Critics warn these solutions don’t fully address systemic inequities, as many families still struggle to afford or access reliable school transportation.
I think it’s fun for other people to dog pile on the “Americans are just lazy” idea and they refuse to consider that if they lived here they too would be forced into some of our grotesque and lazy ways. You said no backpacks allowed, they’re like here neither! We had to use heavy backpacks! Completely ignoring your point and all their arguments were like that. Bless you for sticking with it until they finally understood.
Thank you.