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Advocating for Safe, Reliable, and Accessible Alternative Student Transportation.
Why We Need Alternative Student Transportation
Yellow school buses remain an important backbone of student transportation, but they cannot—and do not—serve every student. Alternative Student Transportation offers school districts, administrators, and parents another option, providing more tools for their toolbox.
Schools Are Facing Growing Demand With Fewer Resources
- 80% of school administrators say that school bus driver shortages are a problem.
- 73% of school administrators say budget shortages have affected their transportation operations, and 21% report their transportation budgets have been cut in the past year.
- 50% of school districts struggle to accommodate both general education students and students with disabilities on the same routes.
“When fewer bus drivers must pick up more students, it means longer routes, earlier morning pick-ups, and later drop-offs. These burdensome logistics can increase the likelihood of a student missing school time and diminish their chances of participating in other activities, not to mention the additional burden they can place on parents trying to coordinate work schedules.” (Source: Economic Policy Institute)
The Ripple Effects Across the Education Ecosystem
- 88% of school districts report equity gaps in transportation access across student groups.
- 83% of administrators report their staff take time away from core educational duties to help with transportation needs.
- 75% of school administrators say that unreliable transportation impacts chronic absenteeism, while 76% link it to chronic tardiness.
- More and more parents and caregivers are being forced to find other ways to get their kids to school, with 63% of parents saying they drive their kids to school and 35% reporting missing work due to dropping off their kids.
“When transportation for disabled students is unavailable, unreliable, or underserved, academic failures and social isolation for these children are never far behind.” (Source: Transfinder)
A Critical Solution: Alternative Transportation Services
A critical solution to many of these issues is the inclusion of Alternative Transportation Services within a district’s offerings.
- 65% of school administrators support using supplemental, alternative transportation services as part of their transportation toolkit.
- Alternative student transportation is often the only solution for 8.84 million students with disabilities and those experiencing homelessness—more than 17.5% of the K–12 student population.