The Uncertain Future of the Yellow School Bus

In 2022, only about a third of students rode the bus to school, down from roughly 37 percent five years before. More students are getting dropped off by car or driving to class, a trend that accelerated after the coronavirus pandemic began, especially among the children of college-educated parents.

The bus was once a transformative force in American education and a symbol of desegregation, but now, it can be a stressful environment for students due to various factors like discipline issues, bullying, and perceptions of it as a form of punishment.

Read at The Atlantic