For the first time, I am seeing broad public acknowledgment of something that has been building for years: school districts are beginning to treat multimodal transportation as a serious strategy for expanding capacity, improving operational efficiency, and managing cost pressure.
That shift was on full display in School Transportation News’ coverage of STN EXPO East, where transportation leaders discussed blending traditional yellow bus service with options like public transit, walking programs, contracted services, and other alternatives. What stood out to me was not the idea itself, but the clarity of the framing.
This is about supplementing the yellow bus, not replacing it
The most important point is a simple one. Multimodal transportation is not about replacing the school bus. It is about supplementing it. It is about recognizing that demand for service is often greater than the available supply, and that districts need more than one path if they want to keep serving students well.
Districts are naming the supply-and-demand problem out loud
At STN EXPO East, Prince George’s County Public Schools reported a shortage of more than 200 drivers while managing over 1,000 routes, a reality its transportation director, Keba Baldwin, spoke to directly. That gap between what families need and what a single mode can deliver is exactly why this moment matters.
The real question is not whether families are ready for transportation strategies that reflect their daily lives. Families are already navigating a multimodal reality. The question is whether districts will build the capacity to meet them there.
What makes multimodal work: communication, alignment, and oversight
Flexibility alone is not enough. The same coverage emphasized that communication, stakeholder alignment, and oversight are essential if districts want these approaches to succeed. Clear contracts, defined expectations, and continuous evaluation are what separate a durable program from a one-time experiment.
From theory to action: the SchoolPool pilot in Austin
This is where public-private collaboration moves beyond theory. Through our partnership with Movability, where Go Together is the technology partner for the SchoolPool pilot program, we are deploying multimodal transportation options in Austin that help reduce school-related traffic congestion and lower carbon emissions. It shows what is possible when districts, employers, and communities align around a shared goal.
The broader field is moving in the same direction. Organizations like the Association for Commuter Transportation, RideAmigos, and the Safe Routes Partnership have long advanced efficient, multimodal, and safe options for getting people, and students, where they need to go. The mainstream transportation conversation is finally catching up.
So here is the question I keep asking district leaders: how important is this shift in helping you expand capacity as an infrastructure move, and better match the real transportation challenges families face?
If you are exploring how multimodal options could work in your district, see how Go Together supports school districts or request a demo.
Adapted from a LinkedIn post by Kimberly Y. Moore, CEO and Co-Founder of Go Together, Inc.
