Who Takes the School Bus? The Roles of Location, Race, and Parents in Choosing Travel-to-School Mode in Georgia

Abstract

In the United States, roughly one-third of students in public and private K-12 schools ride a school bus to school; in Georgia, that share is even higher (46%). But policy differences between and within states complicate explanations of school trip mode choice. To address this and create a consistent choice set, this article uses the 2017 National Household Travel Survey Georgia Add-On to construct a statewide analysis of school trip mode choice among school-bus-eligible students, as Georgia state law requires students receive a bus service if they live 1.5 mi or more from school, creating a consistent choice set. I use a binary logistic regression model and marginal effects to determine factors predicting school bus use on morning trips to school in Georgia among a suite of trip, individual, household, and environmental characteristics. I find that Black students, older students, and students in greater Atlanta are more likely to use a school bus, while students who live further from school, girls, students who have at least one parent with a college degree, and students who have at least one parent with a flexible work schedule are less likely to do so. Additionally, for those who are age-eligible, possessing a driver’s license strongly predicts not using a school bus. Notably, neither family income nor family structure are significant predictors of school bus use. Ultimately, these findings have implications for state school bus policy in Georgia and help elucidate who uses this important service so that resources can be directed appropriately.