Desperate students use rideshare apps to attend school amid bus driver shortages 

As a national bus driver shortage worsens, families with no alternatives are turning to rideshare apps to ensure students can make it to school on time.  

A November report from the Economic Policy Institute noted that, as of September, there were 12.2% fewer school bus drivers working than in September 2019. 

Many districts have responded to these workforce shortages by slimming down bus route offerings or increasing commute times for students. 

But as the Associated Press has highlighted, rideshare apps geared toward students, such as Piggyback Network and HopSkipDrive, are also becoming an increasingly popular option, replacing traditional school busing systems. 

“HopSkipDrive has been a necessary and invaluable school transportation partner to Denver Public Schools,” says DPS executive director of transportation Albert Samora in a testimonial on the rideshare company’s website. 

“Bus driver shortages have been challenging to our transportation department, but HopSkipDrive’s introduction of a flexible driver supply and easy-to-use technology helped us free up assets and optimized our transportation.”  

While student-centered rideshare models offer an additional option to families without access to busing, the cost of fare remains an inhibiting factor for some parents. 

One Prince George’s County, Maryland, mother told local news her family is frequently spending between $120 and $200 to get her kids to school on time, with school-provided buses delivering her children to campus half an hour after classes began. 

Likewise, as student rideshare businesses are not operational in all districts across the country, some parents have been forced to expand their transportation search to general rideshare apps such as Uber. 

Though Uber’s teen program allows children aged 13 to 17 to request rides on the app, some victim advocacy groups strongly recommend against allowing teens to use the service due to personal safety concerns. 

The Economic Policy Institute report attributes the driver shortage to “underfunding” of public schools, arguing the median pay for bus drivers in 2023 was 43% less than the median weekly wage for all workers.  

The current nationwide shortage of bus drivers coincides with the recent trend of chronic absenteeism being noted in districts across the country. A January report from the American Enterprise Institute called chronic absenteeism “long COVID for public schools,” finding absentee rates in 2023 remained 75% higher than the pre-pandemic standard.