US schools are struggling to keep the yellow bus running amid shortages and cuts

‘Student transportation has become more difficult for districts in the US in recent years due to factors such as a shortage of bus drivers, budget constraints, and the growth of the school choice movement.’ Photograph: Ben Hasty/Reading Eagle via Getty Images

Education officials across the United States are increasingly facing a fundamental challenge: how do they ensure that school students can actually get to their classrooms?

The bright yellow school bus might be a visual icon of US education famous around the world, but in reality it is becoming harder for districts to steer.