The following article comes from the Aspen Institute’s State of Play Baton Rouge report. The report assesses the opportunities and barriers for more children to access sports and physical activity in East Baton Rouge Parish, Louisiana.

East Baton Rouge Parish Schools offers magnet programs to retain students, but that has consequences for extracurricular activities: Thousands of students don’t attend schools near their homes and are transported right after school back to their homes. For many children, their only way home is the school bus, which can be a long ride across the parish.

In addition to school bus challenges, parents often cannot take their children to non-school sports and play activities, due to having no vehicle or because of work responsibilities. Other mobility services, such as Uber, are expensive or do not allow children to use the service. In our youth survey, 12% of children said they usually walk to play spaces, practices or games. Black youth are twice as likely as White youth to usually walk in order to play, meaning many Black children have longer walks or don’t go at all to higher-quality parks given BREC’s focus on regional parks. Almost 1 in 3 Baton Rouge residents walk as a regular means of transit and indicated they need better bike and pedestrian pathways, according to a survey by BREC.

Compounding the problems are unreliable bus systems in Baton Rouge through the Capital Area Transit System and EBR Schools. In August 2023, EBR Schools began the academic year with a severe shortage of drivers and working buses, causing many children to be stranded or delayed in getting to and from school. According to the Baton Rouge Advocate, an internal review by the school district found that hundreds of the system’s buses are inoperable and its current fleet of buses is too large, the district doesn’t employ enough auto mechanics and the pay for bus drivers is not aligned with other school districts. All EBR Schools buses that are assigned to a route have new GPS systems installed to keep parents updated on the arrival time of their child’s bus through the WheresTheBus app.

With limited reliable, inexpensive ways to move around the parish, some children have fewer options to play school sports or participate at local affordable facilities like the YMCA or BREC rec centers and fields.

Solutions

1. Integrate municipal and school bus transportation

Baton Rouge could merge inefficient transportation systems and optimize a merged bus system that caters to students’ needs and expands transportation options for the wider community. “Why are we funding two bus systems with empty city buses?” questioned John Spain, Baton Rouge Area Foundation senior advisor. “Many service workers ride the bus to get to work. It’s critical for that population. But metro bus systems bring kids to schools across the country all the time. The time is right to look at this. We would put cameras on the buses to assist with safety for children.”

2. Partner with a safe and reliable rideshare company

For example, HopSkipDrive works with many school districts across the country to take children to and from activities. Drivers have at least five years of experience and undergo various screenings and exams to ensure passengers are safe. Once a ride has been booked, HopSkipDrive texts the parent who organized the pick-up with ride details. Riders and drivers verify each other using a multifactor verification system. Parents receive live text updates when a driver is on the way and when they arrive, depart and safely reachthe destination. Parents can also track rides in real time through the app.

3. Set aside activity buses for after school

Schools could utilize buses to make special drives after practices and games end. Schedules could be coordinated among teams so practices can end around the same time. More bus drivers would need to be identified and compensated.

4. Organize carpools within teams

Carpooling tools and apps make it easier for parents and coaches to set up carpools to practices andgames. A challenge is that some parents don’t have a built-in network to easily connect with other parents. How do you find a parent whom you’re comfortable with driving your child around? Coaches are already asked to do a lot, and many serve as drivers. They may need to increasingly view their role as carpool organizer for their athletes. Centralized pickups could be identified to reduce the number of stops needed.

5. Identify corporate sponsors to fund transportation needs

Systemic efforts to better transport children won’t come without financial investment. Explain to potential funders through data and personal stories why it’s important to transport children to sports activities. Children who are physically active perform better academically, report higher levels of self-esteem and lower rates of depression, and set more goals for their lives through safe activities that can serve as violence-prevention programs.

Jon Solomon is Community Impact Director of the Aspen Institute’s Project Play initiative. Jon can be reached at jon.solomon@aspeninstitute.org.