We learn to read and write, when we could just as well get all of our information read aloud to us by a few qualified Literary Scientists. I don't think it's a huge leap to expect that many adults would benefit from having some _computational_ literacy of a level beyond a basic introduction to Microsoft Office.

You're mixing up matters in your analogy. Riding a school bus is a passive task. Using a computer is an active task. You need a Mech. Eng. to design and build a bus. You don't need a Mech. Eng. to maintain a bus. Practically everyone should maintain their own personal computers.

I won't go into why CS concepts are important in school. My coffee has not yet reached my bloodstream.

Perhaps a better analogy would be driving cars vs. designing car engines? At least I vaguely recall something like this from Amazon reviews of SICP.

Time was lots of high schools had 'auto shop' for those who wanted it.

How many people's jobs could be automated or made easier if only they knew how to tweak how a bus works?