Parents are having to take a larger role in getting their children to school over issues with buses, from driver shortages to bullying, leaving many employed caretakers in tough spots.

In the 2025 State of School Transportation report, conducted by the Associated Press-NORC Center in partnership with HopSkipDrive, 63 percent of parents say they are driving their kids to school, and only 43 percent say their kids use a school bus.

Thirty-five percent said they had missed work due to dropping their kids off, around 3 in 10 said they have not taken opportunities due to their child’s transportation needs and 11 percent said they have lost their job over driving their students to school, according to the report released this month.

A Federal Highway Administration survey concluded early last year showed even lower ridership numbers: Only 28 percent of U.S. students took a school bus in that poll, down from about 36 percent in 2017.

“It really puts parents in a no-win situation where you're trying to do the right thing, you can't depend on transportation, or transportation is unreliable or unsafe, but at the same time, you're still trying to hold........

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