AP-NORC/HopSkipDrive School Transportation Parent Survey - Results 06/30/2025-07/11/2025

Oct 15, 2026

AP-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research and HopSkipDrive surveyed 838 adults (margin of error ±4.6 points at 95% confidence) about how children in K-12 travel to and from school and parents’ views of transportation safety. The survey reports school level by parent status, number of children attending K-12, typical commuting modes (driving, school bus, walking/biking, public transit, paid car service), and the reasons some families do not take the bus. It also measures perceived safety by transportation type, commute duration, traffic congestion, and lateness due to transportation.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages37

Reading Time1 h 33 min

AccessFree to download

Survey Overview

Q1 Parent/Guardian and Child School Level

Q2 Number of Children in K-12

Q3 Typical Transportation Modes

Q4 Safety of Transportation Types

Q5 Reasons for Not Using School Bus

Q6 Commute Duration

Q7 Type of Commute Purpose

Q8 Traffic Congestion Around School

Q9 School Lateness Due to Transportation

Q10 Schedule Conflicts With Responsibilities

2025 AP-NORC/HopSkipDrive School Transportation Parent Survey Conducted by The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research in partnership with HopSkipDrive Interviews: 06/30/2025-07/11/2025 838 adults Margin of error: +/ -4.6 percentage points at the 95% confidence level among all adults NOTE: All results show percentages among all respondents, unless otherwise labeled. Q1. Are you the parent or guardian of … | AP-NORC/HSD
06/30/2025-07/11/2025 | Yes | No | DK | SKP/REF | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | A child attending elementary school (kindergarten through 5th grade) | 56 | 44 | - | - | | A child attending middle school (6th through 8th grade) | 42 | 58 | - | - | | A child attending high school (9th through 12th grade) | 52 | 48 | - | - | | A child between the ages of 5 and 17 attending a remote or online school | 14 | 86 | - | - | N=838 Q2 . How many children do you have currently attending a K-12 school? | | AP-NORC/HSD 06/30/2025-07/11/2025 | | --- | --- | | 1 | 44 | | 2 | 37 | | 3 | 14 | | 4 | 5 | | 5 | 1 | | 10 | * | | DON’T KNOW | - | | SKIPPED ON WEB/REFUSED | - | N = 838 Q3 . How does your child/do your children typically get to and from school? If they commute using multiple different methods, please select all that apply. | | AP-NORC/HSD 06/30/2025-07/11/2025 | | --- | --- | | I drive them | 63 | | Partner/spouse or another family member drives them | 33 | | Carpool with multiple families | 5 | | School bus | 43 | | School-arranged supplemental transportation services in cars or vans | 1 | | Walk or ride a bike | 13 | | Public transportation | 3 | | A car service you pay for like a taxi, Uber, or Lyft | 1 | | They drive themselves1 | 6 | | Other | * | | N/A (homeschool/remote learning) (VOL) | 1 | | Childcare provides transportation (VOL) | 1 | | None of the above | 1 | | DON’T KNOW | - | | SKIPPED ON WEB/REFUSED | * | N = 838 1 Only respondents who are parents or guardians of a child attending high school in Q1C were shown this response option. Percent reported is among all respondents. Q4. How safe do you think each of the following types of transportation is for your child/children to use when commuting to and from school? [GRID ITEMS RANDOMIZED, HALF SAMPLE ASKED RESPONSE OPTIONS IN REVERSE ORDER] | AP-NORC/HSD
06/30/2025-07/11/2025 | Very/
somewhat
safe NET | Very
safe | Somewhat
safe | Neither
safe nor
unsafe | Very/
somewhat
unsafe NET | Somewhat
unsafe | Very
unsafe | DK | SKP/
REF | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | Carpool with another parent or family | 76 | 31 | 44 | 16 | 7 | 5 | 2 | - | 1 | | Carpool with another student | 57 | 12 | 46 | 23 | 20 | 16 | 4 | - | * | | School bus | 78 | 31 | 46 | 13 | 9 | 7 | 2 | - | * | | School-arranged supplemental transportation services in cars or vans | 63 | 19 | 45 | 25 | 11 | 8 | 2 | - | 1 | | Walk or ride a bike | 33 | 9 | 24 | 20 | 46 | 24 | 22 | - | 2 | | Public transportation | 32 | 8 | 24 | 28 | 39 | 24 | 15 | - | 1 | | A hired car service like a taxi, Uber, or Lyft | 28 | 5 | 23 | 25 | 47 | 24 | 23 | - | * | | If parent or guardian of child attending highschool in Q1C
Driving themselves (N=409) | 46 | 8 | 38 | 25 | 27 | 14 | 12 | - | 2 | N=838 If does not typically use school bus in Q3 Q5 . What is the main reason your child doesn’t/children don’t typically take the school bus to or from school? [RESPONSE OPTIONS RANDOMIZED] | | AP-NORC/HSD 06/30/2025-07/11/2025 | | --- | --- | | The commute takes too long | 3 | | It’s not available in my area | 32 | | School bus services have been eliminated or reduced | 6 | | Safety concerns | 14 | | It’s easier to commute a different way | 20 | | The timing doesn’t work with our schedule | 10 | | Some other reason | 16 | | DON’T KNOW | - | | SKIPPED ON WEB/REFUSED | * | N = 529 Q6 . How long does your child/do your children typically spend getting to and from school every day? Ple

FAQs

How was the survey conducted and what is the sample size?

Interviews ran from 06/30/2025 to 07/11/2025. The survey includes 838 adults, with a margin of error of ±4.6 percentage points at the 95% confidence level among all adults.

What does the survey ask about parents’ typical school transportation practices?

It asks how children typically get to and from school, including commuting by car (self or partner/family), carpooling, school bus, walking or biking, public transportation, paid car services, and situations like homeschool/remote learning.

How does the document measure transportation safety?

It uses a safety grid for multiple transportation types, reporting combined “very/somewhat safe” and separate counts for “very safe,” “somewhat safe,” “neither,” “somewhat unsafe,” and “very unsafe,” plus “DK”/refusal where shown.

Oct 15, 2026

Uploaded by Taylor Morgan