Posted by 
PARENTS are increasingly turning to rideshares to take their kids to school as more and more bus routes face the axe.
Only about 28% of US students took a bus to school in the most recent survey, according to the Federal Highway Administration.
The number of students taking school buses has dropped in recent years[/caption]
PiggyBack Network is one such app offering a replacement to traditional school buses[/caption]
That was down from about 36% in 2017.
Chicago Public Schools, the nation’s fourth-largest district, has slashed its bus service in recent years.
While it still offers rides for disabled and homeless students, families are left on their own.
Only 17,000 out of 325,000 students in the district are eligible for school bus rides.
Earlier this month, the school system launched a pilot program to allow students attending out-of-neighborhood magnet or selective-enrollment schools to catch a bus at a nearby school’s “hub spot.”
The aim is to start with rides for some 1,000 students by the end of the school year.
But critics say the scheme is not enough to make up for cuts to the service.
“The people who had the money and the privilege were able to figure out other situations like rearranging their work schedules or public transportation,” Erin Rose Schubert, volunteer for the CPS Parents for Buses advocacy group told The CW-owned affiliate KRON4.
“People who didn’t, some had to pull their kids out of school.”
Under the Piggyback Network, parents can book a ride for their student online along with another parent traveling in the same direction.
Rides cost roughly 80 cents per mile and the drivers are compensated with credits to use for their own kids’ rides.
In its first year, the company has arranged a few hundred rides in Chicago.
There are plans to possibly expand the scheme to other states including North Carolina, Texas, and Virginia.
Unlike Piggyback Network, which connects parents, HopSkipDrive connects directly with school districts to help students who don’t have reliable transportation to school.
The company was launched a decade ago in Los Angeles after three mothers tried to coordinate school carpools.
It now supports some 600 school districts in 13 states.
WHAR IS THE PIGGYBACK NETWORK
THE PiggyBack Network is a rideshare scheme created for busy parents.
- It was created by parents for other parents.
- It is a hyperlocal carpool service designed for parents to connect and share rides for their children’s school, after-school activities, and sports.
- It’s a community-driven platform aiming to make transportation more affordable, efficient, and accessible for families, particularly in the context of busy schedules and the need for reliable transportation solutions.
However, it is banned from operating in certain states, including Kentucky.
A group of Louisville students has been lobbying on its behalf to change that.
Other examples of similar schemes include Kango, which was launched in California and Arizona as a free carpooling app.
Drivers are typically paid more than they would driving for apps such as Uber or Lyft, although the scheme usually has more requirements such as walking some students with disabilities into school.
