On the way to a Science Olympiad tournament in the fifth grade, I was watching the trees blur beyond my window when I saw one of my classmates walking home from school through the glass.
For a moment, I could not reconcile what I was seeing. I was being driven toward an opportunity, while he was walking away from one. We attended the same school, yet when the final bell rang, we did not share the same access to opportunity. In that moment, I began to see transportation as a question of educational access.
We often describe extracurricular activities as optional, as something students can pursue if they have the time, the interest, the drive. However, that definition overlooks the students for whom participation is not truly a choice. In one evaluation of after-school programs serving low-income students, 20.2 percent of nonparticipants said it was too difficult to get a ride home (U.S. Department of Education). Today, transportation remains a national barrier: 24 percent of public schools reported transportation limitations as a reason they could not offer academically focused after-school programs (Institute of Education Sciences, 2024).
Georgia has begun addressing transportation, but its current investment still leaves a significant gap. The Fiscal Year 2027 budget provides about $402.6 million for pupil transportation and $25 million to replace 270 school buses (Young, 2026). That is meaningful progress, but Georgia estimates more than $1.5 billion in total student transportation costs for the year, meaning the state will cover only about 27 percent of those costs. More than 930,000 students—roughly 53 percent of Georgia’s public-school students—ride school buses (Young, 2026). The budget recognizes transportation as essential infrastructure, but its funding structure still leaves districts to shoulder most of the cost.
Georgia should build on that investment by treating transportation after the final bell as part of educational access. First, the state could create competitive grants specifically for late activity buses, allowing districts to extend routes beyond the traditional school day and prioritize areas where transportation barriers limit participation.
For students whose activities end at different times, another option is to partner with existing public transit systems. Georgia could negotiate discounted student fares tied to school IDs, giving students a reliable way home without requiring districts to run a separate bus for every activity. In communities without practical transit, districts could work with local organizations or transportation providers to create scheduled after-school routes.
This matters beyond extracurriculars. A student who stays for robotics may discover engineering; a student who remains for debate may find a passion for public service; a student who can reach an internship may gain experience that shapes a career. Communication, leadership, persistence, and problem-solving become part of the workforce and civic life those students will eventually enter.
I still think about the classmate I passed that afternoon. When transportation becomes the barrier, investing in the ride is an investment in the opportunity, and ultimately, in all of us.
