Most school administrators continue to face transportation challenges in their local educational agencies, according to a new report from HopSkipDrive, a company that provides supplemental school transportation services, and the AP-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research.
Using surveys from 510 school administrators and almost 840 parents, the 2025 State of School Transportation report found that, of administrators who said bus driver shortages are a problem, almost half (46 percent) said it’s a major problem. Issues largely stem from persistent impacts of bus driver shortages (80 percent) and budget shortfalls (73 percent) on transportation operations.
“School administrators are sounding the alarm: transportation challenges are no longer just logistical — they’re educational. When teachers are pulled from classrooms to support operations and students miss out on learning opportunities, the ripple effects are profound,” said Joanna McFarland, CEO and co-founder at HopSkipDrive. “The good news is that administrators are open to innovative solutions, from centralized pick-up locations to supplemental transportation services, so every student can get to school safely, reliably, and ready to learn. Cutting transportation has become a default option with unacceptable consequences, shifting the burden to other educators, students and families.”
Researchers noted that transportation challenges are particularly common and impactful to low-income families.
“Transportation issues are impacting families in deeply personal ways — from missed work and lost jobs to children missing out on meals, counseling and extracurriculars,” said Jennifer Benz, deputy director of the AP-NORC Center. “The data show that when transportation breaks down, it’s not just a scheduling problem — it’s a barrier to opportunity. Understanding these impacts is essential to crafting solutions that work for both schools and families.”
According to families, when school transportation is lacking, students miss out on educational support and opportunities or experience higher rates of tardiness and absenteeism. Additionally, 11 percent of parents surveyed report having lost a job due to needing to take their children to and from school or other activities.
Key findings
Among administrators surveyed:
- Forty-six percent said the number of students who qualify for free, school-provided transportation in the last five years has stayed the same, 44 percent reported an increase and 45 percent expect the need to keep increasing over the next five years.
- Of the 81 percent who reported that school bus driver shortages are a problem in their school or district, 26 percent said their LEA has addressed these shortages by cutting or shortening bus routes, 83 percent said their teachers have had to step away from their core responsibilities to cover transportation needs and 75 percent said a lack of access to transportation has negatively impacted their LEA’s chronic absenteeism rates.
- Eighty-nine percent said students in their schools are typically driven to school.
Among parents surveyed:
- Twenty-six percent said their student has missed extracurricular activities in the last school year; 21 percent have missed school services like school meals or counseling; and 17 percent have missed tutoring or academic help.
- Nearly 45 percent said their students have been late to school at least a few times in the last year due to issues with transportation.
- Fifty-six percent said they experience stress about their children’s transportation at least a few times a year, with a quarter feeling stressed at least monthly.
- About 30 percent of parents said they missed work or have been prevented from taking personal opportunities or work opportunities due to needing to take their children to and from school or other activities. Women were more likely than men to report both being prevented from pursuing work opportunities (33 percent vs. 23 percent) or personal opportunities (37 percent vs. 23 percent) due to child transportation responsibilities.
Looking toward potential solutions, researchers found that parents and administrators share common ground on possible solutions to transportation challenges. Among the strategies favored:
- About 40 percent of parents and 65 percent of administrators agree that allowing LEAs to use school-arranged supplemental transportation services would make getting to school easier for families.
- Seventy percent of administrators and about 40 percent of parents suggested improving safe pedestrian and bike infrastructure near schools.
- About 33 percent of parents and 73 percent of administrators said organizing centralized pick-up and drop-off locations for students using school buses could aid transportation issues.
