What ever happened to taking the bus to school?

[AristocatFan]

I've always driven my kids because frankly I do not like school buses nor trust them. We live 4 blocks from the elementary school. It didn't make sense to me to have the kids sit for 45 min on the bus when I could just take them and we're in the car 2-3min(depending on traffic light). When they were all at a different school....elem., middle, and high school. We worked it out between DH and I.

Now the boys are in high school and DS17 drives himself and his brother to and from school. I work at DD's school so that is a convenience to have her go with me.

I was a family manager(stay-home mom) for 13 years. I started working at the kids' elem school 5 years ago and the stories and the antics I hear about on the bus makes me glad I never put them on it. Our school system recently put cameras on the buses which has helped a lot with behaviors.

 

[TwinsinCA]

Here they only offer bus service if you live outside of a certain radius from the school. The older the kids, the bigger the radius. It also costs something like $300/kid for the school year.

We live too close to the school for bus service, so I drive them.

 

[Art 1]

No bus for our schools.

 

[RadioNate]

My kid takes the bus! It started in Tx when it would have been an 1.5 hour round trip (each morning only) in rush hour traffic for me to drop him off! I wasn't wasting that much time so on the bus he went.

Here in FL the bus stop is out our front door. What amazes me is the amount of kids driven to the bus stop. The school is less than a 5 minute drive. If you are going to drive them to the bus stop, why not drive them to school too? Our area only gets bus service because the kids would have to cross a highway if they walked.

My neighbor insists on driving her kids. While in the morning she can leave about 15 minutes after the bus time, in the afternoon she gets home with them after the bus. She leaves a 1/2 hour before dismissal to get a good spot in line and then arrives home after the bus drops the kids off. Car pickup doesn't start until after the busses have dismissed.

 

[PatsGirl]

DS rode the bus every day as does DD. And when DD needs to stay after school or is going somewhere that public transportation will take her she rides that bus as well. We live in a regional district that is about 30 minutes from end to end (and of course we live on the edge of the district ) so to pick her up from school and drop her at a girl scout meeting down the street from the school doesn't make sense to me when she can grab a bus for $1.50.

There was a very large group of people fighting for public transportation on the Cape but now that we have it I find most parents don't feel safe about letting their kids use it. Personally, I call it independence, something very difficult to teach on this sandbar

 

[luvsJack]

Dd doesn't ride the bus because its just not convenient. The bus would pick her up at 6:30, I get her up at 6:30. We leave at 7:30 to get her to school by 7:45. The school is on the main road between my house and my job (I have to be at work at 8, so the timing is perfect).

In the afternoons, my Dsis is on her way from picking up her kids from private school (no bus offered) and comes right past dd's school so she picks her up for me.

When she goes to high school, its 30 minutes in the other direction so she will be riding the bus until she starts driving.

 

[nmmom95]

I have always driven my boys to school. The school is only 2 miles away. It's really easier to just drive them, plus we get the added bonus of sleeping a little later.

 

[Tinker'n'Fun]

My children go to private school, and while busses are provided, the times are always an inconvenience. Still we put them on the bus as much as possible. It is not uncommon for the bus ride to be 1-2 hours each way and the schools are less than 15 miles from the house. We are a one car family and don't have the convenience of taking them to school. If they have an after school event they have to wait until their dad gets out of work, sometimes 2-3 hours. Gratefully both kids can read and write on the bus without getting a headache, so it is a nice quiet time to do homework.

 

[JVL1018]

I read on here all the time about problems people run into taking their kids to school or picking them up. problems withe the pickup line, problems dropping off at school, etc. So my question is this: Why doesn't your child take the bus? I recall briefly when I was a freshman in high school, our district lost it's budget and had to operate on an austerity budget so anyone living within 3 miles of the school lost bus service (that would be me!)...so my best friend and I got driven in the morning and WALKED home three miles after school. Then as a senior in HS I had a problem with my back that made sitting excruciating, so my mom drove me the 5 minutes to school rather than endure 30 minutes on the bus. I still had to take the bus home though.

Outside of those extenuating circumstances (like being bullied, or missing the bus, or a medical issue) why do so many kids get driven to school? My mom would have laughed right at me if I had asked to be driven everyday.

We don't have bussing except for special ed students here. Our town is 2 square miles. We have 5 grammar schools, and you are zoned to go to your neighborhood school. EVERYONE is within walking distance-I am only 2.5 blocks away..I drive when it's cold though. LOL We walk if it's over 40 degrees or so.
The middle school and high school are centrally located.
I am not sure if they have bussing for middle and high school, but if they do it would be for a handful of kids who live far enough away to get it. Nobody lives much more than a mile max from the middle and high school.


I lived in the next town over growing up and the grammar school situation was the same-neighborhood schools, no one lived too far away from school.
Middle and HS were semi-centrally located. There were about 10 streets that were far enough away(over a mile) to get bussing to middle and hs-it was enough kids for one of those small school buses.

 

[mtemm]

mine don't because its a 10 minute walk or 2 minute drive to school so I prefer to drive or walk to/from school. if I didn't, they would be sitting on a bus for 40 minutes each way. no thanks. I can think of better things for them to be doing with their time!

not to mention when the weather is nice out, we get to stay after school and play at the playground with several of their friends for a bit. nice for me (playdate with the other moms) and nice for them to have some fun before homework, etc.

 

[robinb]

I drop my DD off at school but she takes the bus home. She doesn't take the bus to school because it picks up at 7:10 and that's way too early for both of us. If I drive her to school she gets another 25-minutes and we leave at 7:35. Neither one of us is a "morning person" and that extra 25 minutes of sleep is worth the morning drive to me.

Unfortunately, there is no bus service for middle-school and above so we will have to come up with a different plan for next year. I think that she will start riding her bike this later year when the weather gets warmer and then ride it next year as long as it's warm and dry enough. Luckily for us, there is a safe dedicated bike path that covers 80% of her route.

 

[punkin]

Around here they bus anyone in over a 1 mile radius. We are just barely inside that radius for DD's middle school. Of course that's as the crow flies. It is close to 1.5 miles walking and we have no sidewalks. May I tell you how heavy the kids' backpacks are?

I prefer to do pick-up and drop off except in unusual situations, and then I send DD17 to pick up DD11 to walk her home so I feel better about her safety.

 

[rparmfamily]

We don't don't get bus service, as my children attend a school out of our assigned area.

Even when we did live in the area, they didn't ride the bus. I still drove them. I like getting out and talking to the teachers, the other parents, and the principal (she is out every afternoon greeting parents,etc) if I want to. Helps keep me posted on school happenings.

Here in Hawaii kids pay for the bus, it's $1 EACH way EACH ride. And you prepay, I think it's about $60 a kid per quarter. Crazy!

 

[AustinTink]

DS goes to a private school... no bus. I went to a private school and never rode the bus either. The only time either one of us rides a bus in at Disney, and he thinks it's a treat. LOL

 

[LisaNJ25]

My school does not have school busses.


I drop my kids off around the corner from there school and they walk from there. I dont like to get caught up in the mess from in front of the school,

My high schooler (is that the right word lol) walks home most of the time from his school but gets a ride from a friend in the am.

Even though I am about 5-6 blocks from the school its next to major hwy.
I may allow my 5th and K walk home occasionally in spring.

 

[grumpeeduck]

We have always taken dd's to and from school. DH takes in the am and I pick up in the afternoon. It's good, quality time well spent. When dd gets in the car in the afternoon, she is sooo happy to see ME, and is full of stories of her day. I get to spend that time with her, not another 30 minutes of "school" on her way home. I also agree about the older kids, and no supervision on buses.
Buses also have accidents, and I had much rather (in fact, I insist) DH or I be the one behind the wheel with our precious cargo!

 

[Mkrop]

My kids take the bus both ways unless they have things to take in or bring home or after school activities. They love the bus and we are fornutately the last stop, many people will come to our stop if they missed the bus or their kid forgot something.

We are also the first stop coming home.

Many people here drive bc the buses come super early or they do no want their kid riding on the bus for an hour.

 

[hereyago]

When DD11 was in elementary, she was designated as a walker. But I did drop off and pick up until she was in 4th grade. Then she wanted to walk herself, there were other kids along the way that walked as well.

Now she is in middle school. So, she has to take the bus. If there is an afterschool activity she wants to participate in, then there are buses to bring them home as well.

 

[savannahcat]

My kids go to a private school, for which there is no bus service. The school is 5 miles away from our home, so the only option is driving them.

Exactly the same situation here.

 

[NMAmy]

DD walked to school in elementary and middle school. In junior high, she took the bus or if she was ready to leave early (which didn't happen very often!), I'd drop her off since it was on my way. She rode the bus home.

When dd had a doctor's appointment or something that I had to pick her up for at the end of the day, I was always amazed by the number of parents at the afternoon pickup for junior high kids. It was a madhouse.