Description/Abstract
This article explores how researchers can use pupil transportation data to explore key questions about the role of transportation in educational access and equity, such as how students get to school and the effect of transportation on student outcomes. We first describe different sources of transportation data that are available to researchers, provide a brief review of relevant literature, and discuss potential sources of measurement error in pupil transportation data. Next, we use administrative data from New York City to illustrate how pupil transportation data can be used to understand transportation eligibility and assignment as well as to describe the characteristics of students’ commutes to school. For example, we find that not all students assigned for free transportation take it up. Specifically, although 47 percent of K-12 students in 2017 were eligible for pupil transportation based on distance with another 9 percent of students receiving exceptions, only 45 percent of students were assigned to a full-fare MetroCard, general education bus, or special education bus. Further, we find the average commute to school for walkers and bus riders is quite similar—around 30 minutes—although there is wide variation as some students experience very short or very long commutes. We end with a discussion of the importance of the institutional context when conducting research using pupil transportation data and best practices when using administrative data.
Document Type
Working Paper
Date
12-2021
Keywords
Education, Pupil Transportation, School Bus, Commuting
Language
English
Funder(s)
Institute of Education Sciences, U.S. Department of Education
Funding ID
R305A170270
Series
Working Papers Series
Acknowledgements
This research was supported by the Institute of Education Sciences, U.S. Department of Education, through GrantR305A170270 awarded to Syracuse University (Schwartz). The opinions expressed are those of the authors and do not represent views of the Institute or the U.S. Department of Education. We thank the NYCDOE Office of Pupil Transportation for data access and their continued support for this project and Joanna Bailey and Willy Chen for their research assistance on the project.
Disciplines
Economic Policy | Economics | Public Affairs, Public Policy and Public Administration
ISBN
1525-3066
Recommended Citation
Cordes, Sarah; Trajkovski, samantha; Rick, Christopher; Weinstein, Meryle; and Schwartz, Amy Ellen, "Using Pupil Transportation Data to Explore Educational Inequities and Outcomes: A Case Study from New York City" (2021). Center for Policy Research. 376.
https://surface.syr.edu/cpr/376
Source
Local input
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Additional Information
Working paper no. 243