Moms' Careers and Lives Suffer From School Drop-Off Burden, Poll Reveals

The Struggle of Balancing Work and School Transportation

For many parents, the challenge of ensuring their children get to school on time is a daily battle that often comes at the cost of their own careers. Elizabeth Rivera, a 42-year-old mother of three, has experienced this firsthand. During her overnight shift at an Amazon warehouse in Houston, her phone would frequently ring with urgent calls from her kids who needed a ride to school because the bus didn’t show up. After being fired for missing work due to these transportation issues, Rivera expressed feelings of depression and frustration.

“I’m kind of depressed about it,” she said. “It’s hard to find a job, and there are bills I have to pay. But the kids have to go to school.”

Rivera’s story is not unique. A recent poll conducted by The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research and HopSkipDrive highlights the growing challenges faced by parents who must choose between their jobs and their children’s education.

The Impact of School Transportation on Employment

According to the survey, most parents drive their children to school, and this responsibility can significantly affect their ability to maintain steady employment. About one-third of parents reported missing work due to transportation needs, while roughly 30% said they had been prevented from seeking or taking new job opportunities. An alarming 11% admitted that school transportation had even led to losing a job.

Mothers, in particular, are more likely to report that school transportation needs interfere with their professional lives. The impact is especially pronounced among lower-income families, where around 40% of parents with household incomes below $100,000 a year said they missed work due to pick-up needs, compared to 30% of those with higher incomes.

Meredyth Saieed, a 30-year-old mother from North Carolina, shared her experience of juggling work and childcare. After moving into a homeless shelter with her two children, she struggled to manage their transportation needs. Despite qualifying for government-paid transport, she found the system unreliable and decided to drop them off and pick them up herself. This arrangement eventually led to her losing a job as a bartender due to repeated absences.

Rural vs. Urban Challenges

The availability of school buses varies significantly across different regions. While about half of parents in rural areas and small towns say their children take a bus to school, only one-third of parents in urban areas report the same. A separate survey of school administrators revealed that nearly half consider school bus driver shortages a major problem in their districts.

Some schools do not offer bus services at all, and others provide options that don’t suit every family’s needs. In Long Island, New York, police officer Dorothy Criscuolo chose not to send her neurodivergent children on the bus due to concerns about their well-being. Instead, she and her wife handle the drop-offs and pickups, which affects her sleep and overall well-being.

The Role of Mothers in School Transportation

Mothers are most often responsible for driving their children to and from school, with 68% reporting that they typically take on this task, compared to 57% of fathers. Most mothers (55%) say they have missed work, lost jobs, or were kept from personal or professional opportunities due to school transportation needs, compared to 45% of fathers.

Syrina Franklin, a 41-year-old mother in Chicago, faces similar challenges. With her husband deceased, she must manage the transportation of her two high school-age children and a 5-year-old grandson. After losing her job as a mail sorter due to frequent lateness, she turned to gig economy jobs like Uber and Instacart to support her family.

Seeking Better Solutions

While the use of school buses has declined over the years, many parents believe that alternative solutions could make the process easier. Approximately 40% of parents said having more school bus routes, school-arranged transportation, or improved infrastructure near schools would make getting their kids to school much easier. Around a third also expressed a desire for earlier or later start times or centralized pick-up and drop-off locations.

Joanna McFarland, CEO of HopSkipDrive, emphasized the need for systemic changes rather than placing the burden on parents. “I don’t think the way to solve this is to ask parents to look for innovative ideas,” she said. “I think we really need to come up with innovative ideas systematically and institutionally.”

A New Approach for Rivera

In Houston, Rivera is waiting for a background check for a new job while finding temporary solutions for her family's transportation needs. Her 25-year-old daughter, who works at Amazon, has moved back home and now handles the drop-offs for her younger siblings. “It’s going very well,” Rivera said.

As the conversation around school transportation continues, it’s clear that the challenges faced by parents like Rivera, Saieed, and Franklin are widespread and require comprehensive, institutional solutions to ensure that no child is left behind.