Like many small businesses, GoKid was hit hard by the pandemic: When schools closed in March 2020 all over the world, we lost not only our customers that were using our school carpooling solution, but also all of our school clients. It’s been a challenging time for all of us: Schools, families, and service providers like GoKid. School busses were on hold and bus drivers needed to secure new jobs.
Severe bus driver shortage challenging the system
Now that schools are – mostly – open again and have learned to adapt to in-person learning, our education system is facing another serious problem: It has become difficult to get the kids to schools due to a severe shortage of school bus drivers. In my own hometown in Connecticut, 13 of the 38 bus routes were missing bus drivers when the schools reopened after the summer break. Our town is choked with traffic – especially in front of our 8 schools, with parents waiting 30-50 minutes to drop off or pick up their children.
Industry is set to address the problem
And this is not just an anecdotal observation. The National Association for Pupil Transportation (NAPT) recently conducted a joint survey of America’s shortage of school bus drivers and the results were eye-opening: Out of 1500 respondents, 51% said the driver shortage was “severe” or “desperate”. Roughly three-quarters of all respondents (78%) also indicated that the school bus driver shortage is getting “much worse” or “a little worse.”
Roughly two-thirds of all respondents (65%) indicated that bus driver shortage is their
number one problem or concern and cited the pay and length of hiring as the main problem for the shortage. During the pandemic, many bus drivers simply weren’t keen on driving un-vaccinated children; they were able to secure higher-paying jobs and are unlikely to come back in the near future.
Roona Weber, Executive Director of the Association of State Directors of Pupil Transportation Services (NASDPTS) that co-commissioned the survey states: “While the industry seems to struggle with driver shortages each year, this year’s shortage has a different feel to it and having the data to really understand it is invaluable.” And the Pew Charitable Trusts points out that mostly rural districts and lower-income families are feeling the pain.
New mobility solutions are needed
Here at GoKid, we hear the pain: We are receiving emails and calls from school districts, independent schools and charter schools inquiring how a shared mobility solution would work. The good news: GoKid is complementing existing bus routes as it simply offers a software solution to help parents connect with each other and our GoKid Apps are allowing users to easily set up and manage their carpools within trusted school networks.
GoKid relaunching this summer
I am beyond thrilled to share that GoKid will be relaunching its services this year, starting in Australia and New Zealand, and relaunching in the US and Canada later this summer.
Whether you are a school, school district, region, or school bus operator, we are thrilled to hear from you to discuss how we can partner with you.
Please send an email to schools@gokid.projectwebtec1.com – We’d love to work with you.
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