Tired of the general public not understanding what we all do every day in pupil transportation? That’s exactly what a new campaign aims to change.
Last fall at NAPT’s 2025 annual conference, Executive Director Molly McGee Hewitt announced the association's new 14-month public awareness campaign called Driven Together. Launched in January 2026, its purpose is to educate the public about the importance and safety of the yellow school bus with a calendar of specific objectives, taglines, and targeted audiences.
“Why did we use the term ‘driven together’”? McGee Hewitt asked the crowd at its conference. “Well, the word driven to me means passion, moving forward, being strong, having opinions for it, and taking our agenda and our initiative and moving it forward,” she said, explaining that it’s time to bring in more people on our side who don’t understand what we do or how we do it. People like those who serve on school boards, or parents, or lawmakers.
“I believe that the general public really has very limited knowledge in why we're the safest form of student transportation,” she added during a March 19, 2026, member webinar. “I was a school administrator, and in my last position, transportation was one of the units that I had the pleasure of supervising. In all those times, my knowledge of school bus safety was very limited. … So we are trying to reach very specific groups who don't know what we know, to help inform them and raise the level of support … that will benefit our members and will benefit the home-to-school transportation group.”
Driven Together Objectives
- Educate select audiences and key opinion makers about school bus safety and the importance of our industry
- Influence attitudes and behaviors
- Mobilize action
- Encourage policy changes or support for initiatives and regulatory guidelines
- Showcase community pride, empower NAPT members, and invigorate state affiliates
The campaign will include digital toolkits, PSAs, media relations, social media, community engagement, and government relations, to raise awareness and support for the school bus industry on a national level.
Taglines will include:
- “Every ride, every child, every day.”
- “Student safety is our No. 1 priority.”
Campaign Framework
As a measure of success, NAPT expects that by March 2027, it will see measurable growth in media impressions, partnerships, member engagement, and “broader public recognition of the yellow school bus as a symbol of safety, trust, and community.”
Follow along and join the conversation on social media using hashtag #DrivenTogetherNAPT.
