The first and only phone message I’ve gotten from my kid’s elementary school this year was about parking lot safety reminders: “Please listen to the directions of our staff that are in the parking lot to help direct traffic and keep children safe.” The welcome meeting for new parents was dominated by a discussion of drop-off and pick-up concerns. Last year, at his previous school, the weekly newsletters from the principal always included a note about the same. And I’m guessing if you’re a caregiver in the US, this sounds all too familiar.
I’ve come to see that the inherent chaos, inefficiency, and safety risks of school drop-offs by car mirror the paradox of car dependency more broadly: the more that people who have the choice or the privilege of driving are incentivized to drive, the more difficult, less comfortable, and less safe it becomes for people who don’t. As a parent who can’t drive, I’m reminded of this catch 22 almost daily as I navigate getting my kid across a busy intersection…
Dr. Kelcie Ralph at Rutgers University found that even when controlling for income, wealth, residential location, family composition, and race, “young adults who were carless as children completed less education, worked for pay less often, experienced more unemployment, and earned less than their matched peers with consistent car access.” The car dependence of our communities, in particular in the opportunities available for children, have generational impact.
And, at some level, our communities recognize this by funding school bus transportation systems. According to the Bureau of Transportation Statistics, the majority of children from low-income families take the school bus. We understand that a child’s ability to attend school shouldn’t depend on the ability of a caregiver to transport them. But a national school bus driver shortage means that many districts are having difficulty serving routes.