School | Pad Patter 8.4

[IntenseMagic]

In particular school buses. I just got back from the store a bit ago and saw some school buses along the way. It's almost that time! I'm always curious about how other places do things and I was thinking about the differences in the county where I work vs the county where I live.

In the county where I work, school buses are available for everyone and they pretty much stop at every child's house (it's a small area). Also, all ages ride the same buses. In the area where I live, the buses don't pick up inside city limits. Those parents must find their own transportation to and from school. They also have more designated pick up spots along a route, not each house. Elementary students do not ride the bus with Middle and High School students. The Elementary schools start and end earlier than the others, so they are two different runs.

My older two loved riding the bus. I dropped them off at school when they were in Elementary, but they couldn't wait until middle school so they could ride the bus (weirdos).

So now I want to know how things work where you are...
Do you have public school buses? Does everyone have access?

 

[littlekiwi]

Admittedly school buses and I were a very long time ago (1999/2000) so a) my knowledge of them now is non existent and b) my actual time using the school buses (and at that particular school) was nothing short of **** due to constant teasing. I had to take a school bus that was shared with the adjoining high school as the intermediate school (junior high is probably the closest it would be) I was zoned for, for a two year period was across town but the bus route was a good 10-15 minute walk away. I was unlucky that the primary school that I had been going to, two blocks away was adding those extra two years of schooling a year too late for me to keep attending.The one good thing that came out of those two years was meeting my best friend of now 25 years so I guess it wasn't all bad news!

Do you have public school buses?
Yes, they are run by the local bus company & partly funded by the local governments transport division. The private schools have buses too but of course more expensive and using a different company to operate them.

Does everyone have access?
Yes, all school children for the specific school/s at the time did. I'm not sure now whether school buses would be provided to the other intermediate school that I'd now be zoned for but it's really a moot point as the primary school up the road still has the extra two years anyway.

 

[umyesh]

Do you have public school buses? Does everyone have access?
Yes we have public school buses but you only have access if you live far away from the school. Our elementary school has no buses since everyone lives close to it. Our middle school has a bus for our neighborhood as well as other buses. Our high school has no bus for our neighborhood since we live close but there are other buses.

When I was growing up I rode a bus to my junior high and a bus to my high school. I have two terrible bus memories, both from junior high. The first was when we got off the bus one day and there were girls waiting outside to beat up a girl who rode our bus. I was scared for my life. The second was when we shared a bus with the boys' basketball team on a ride home from our games and they threw giant spit wads all over the bus. It was soooooo gross! I'm shocked I didn't throw up.

 

[bestcee]

Do you have public school buses?
Yes, we have buses. It's a bit interesting for riders. Each Elementary school has their own buses that go out since we have 11 different elementary schools. And the one middle and high school are next to each other, so they ride buses together. But I'm not positive if the other middle/high ride together since they are about 3 miles apart. One of the buses at our elementary actually does 2 routes. It's the first bus out and it drops off all the kids at one of two stops in a complex. Then, it comes back and gets the next kids that go to a different complex. It's too many kids for 1 bus, but each route only takes 6 - 10 minutes, so 2 buses would be a waste.

Does everyone have access?
No. If you are within 1 mile for elementary or 1.5 miles for high/middle you don't get a bus. The exceptions: If you don't have enough sidewalks to safely walk to school or if you are across the major road, then you are also bussed. The city actually just put in sidewalks in one section of a neighborhood and made the parents mad. They used to be bussed, but they are only 1/2 mile, so now they are a walking neighborhood.

All that said, our city bus runs to most of the schools, and along the major roads. It's only $.25/ride, Just kidding. Apparently, it's free right now. And the buses all have bike racks, so it's not hard for a student to catch a city bus if they don't qualify for the school bus.

 

[Angela Toucan]

there is no such thing a school bus here in the UK. If you need to use a bus to get to school you are expected to use a public bus service. When I was a child, private bus companies put on buses specially for the school times, but that has become rare. Where I live unless you go to a special select school it is impossible to get to school via a bus. The privately owned public bus services don't run routes with schools in mind anymore. The select schools have hired coaches to run their routes for students who live more than 3 miles from school, but they will only stop at a few set locations. My children didn't get into one of those schools.

The 6th form my children have/will attend(ed) is attached to a select school that is in easy walking distance of our house. If my children had not managed the grades and interview to get into that 6th form we would have needed to drive them to one further away. Fortunately the selection criteria for 6th form is not the same as that for the secondary school. My children didn't meet the social class based criteria for the secondary school.

 

[StefanieS]

We don't have school buses.
Parents drive their children to and from school.
Few will walk if they live nearby.
I don't miss having to do Mom's taxi in the slightest.

 

[HavaDrPepper]

Our school system has their own buses. Because the schools stagger start times, the students that ride buses are not intermixed. Our school system has a lot of country area so those students always ride the bus, at least until they are driving age then they don't have to (or parents can drop off/pick up). I think all elementary students no matter where they live ride the bus but once they get to middle school and high school, those that live close to the school either walk or parents do the drop off/pick up.

All those years ago when I was in school, I would have been a bus rider because my neighborhood has no sidewalks and is not in city limits. Some years I rode with my mom who taught at the school I was attending. Once I got to high school until I started driving, I was a walker since it is only 1/2 of a mile away. That building is now the middle school and I see those students that live in my neighborhood walking especially during the nice weather days.

The bus does not stop at each individual house but at a location that is central to several students, at least in my neighborhood. It may be different in the country where houses are much further apart.

School starts here on the 20th so I'll have to see when they are in the neighborhood to avoid walking the dog at that time!

 

[Memaw2Wm]

Our county school system provides buses for students not living within walking distance of their neighborhood schools (elementary/K-6; middle/7&8; high/9-10) ... the walking distance increases with age. My live-in grandkids rode a school bus to elementary and middle school, then were "walkers" for high school although I drove them b/c I pass the high school leaving my neighborhood headed to work.

Each school has it's own set of buses, bus stops are within a block or two of most homes. Middle and high schools offer late buses several times each week for students staying for clubs, theater, sports.

Then there are vans that pick up certain students at home and deliver them to school. Two summers ago my grandson had to attend summer school and thankfully the county provided door-to-door busing for him as I was not sure how I was going to be able to get him to and from school when the school was across town from my job ...

 

[michelepixels]

Where I grew up (a town in San Diego county) and also where I taught (a county in the Los Angeles metro area) in the last few decades of the 20th century, school buses were few. Maybe only for field trips. I don't remember a regular daily bus, but maybe there was something. Personally, I walked a couple blocks to elementary, a mile to middle school, and 2 miles home from my high school (I got car rides to high school in the morning).

So it was a strange thing to me, moving here to Fredericksburg, Virginia and seeing buses all over the place. And even stranger when I learned that you have to get permission to allow your child to walk instead of take the bus, and it's extremely rare that anyone does that. Of course, the schools aren't built safely inside neighborhoods here like the ones where I taught in the 90's. They're on 30-40mph multi-lane roads with no sidewalks. So not only does everyone have access, it's almost the only way. Though, having done parent pick up duty after school for the past few years, I can tell you about 70 families in my elementary school of about 600 students use their car instead of the school bus.

 

[IntenseMagic]

Admittedly school buses and I were a very long time ago (1999/2000) so a) my knowledge of them now is non existent and b) my actual time using the school buses (and at that particular school) was nothing short of **** due to constant teasing. I had to take a school bus that was shared with the adjoining high school as the intermediate school (junior high is probably the closest it would be) I was zoned for, for a two year period was across town but the bus route was a good 10-15 minute walk away. I was unlucky that the primary school that I had been going to, two blocks away was adding those extra two years of schooling a year too late for me to keep attending.The one good thing that came out of those two years was meeting my best friend of now 25 years so I guess it wasn't all bad news!

Do you have public school buses?
Yes, they are run by the local bus company & partly funded by the local governments transport division. The private schools have buses too but of course more expensive and using a different company to operate them.

Does everyone have access?
Yes, all school children for the specific school/s at the time did. I'm not sure now whether school buses would be provided to the other intermediate school that I'd now be zoned for but it's really a moot point as the primary school up the road still has the extra two years anyway.

It's really interesting to me to find out about other countries!

Do you have public school buses? Does everyone have access?
Yes we have public school buses but you only have access if you live far away from the school. Our elementary school has no buses since everyone lives close to it. Our middle school has a bus for our neighborhood as well as other buses. Our high school has no bus for our neighborhood since we live close but there are other buses.

When I was growing up I rode a bus to my junior high and a bus to my high school. I have two terrible bus memories, both from junior high. The first was when we got off the bus one day and there were girls waiting outside to beat up a girl who rode our bus. I was scared for my life. The second was when we shared a bus with the boys' basketball team on a ride home from our games and they threw giant spit wads all over the bus. It was soooooo gross! I'm shocked I didn't throw up.

In the county where I work, there are elementary students who live literally next door to the school and ride the bus over. It always cracks me up a little.
Those are some traumatic bus rides!! I know there are wild things that happen on those buses!

Do you have public school buses?
Yes, we have buses. It's a bit interesting for riders. Each Elementary school has their own buses that go out since we have 11 different elementary schools. And the one middle and high school are next to each other, so they ride buses together. But I'm not positive if the other middle/high ride together since they are about 3 miles apart. One of the buses at our elementary actually does 2 routes. It's the first bus out and it drops off all the kids at one of two stops in a complex. Then, it comes back and gets the next kids that go to a different complex. It's too many kids for 1 bus, but each route only takes 6 - 10 minutes, so 2 buses would be a waste.

Does everyone have access?
No. If you are within 1 mile for elementary or 1.5 miles for high/middle you don't get a bus. The exceptions: If you don't have enough sidewalks to safely walk to school or if you are across the major road, then you are also bussed. The city actually just put in sidewalks in one section of a neighborhood and made the parents mad. They used to be bussed, but they are only 1/2 mile, so now they are a walking neighborhood.

All that said, our city bus runs to most of the schools, and along the major roads. It's only $.25/ride, Just kidding. Apparently, it's free right now. And the buses all have bike racks, so it's not hard for a student to catch a city bus if they don't qualify for the school bus.

I loved walking to school when I was in middle school. It was about 1.5 miles and we always had the best time. We don't have any public transportation, in either place. It really makes it difficult for many people. I spoke with a county administrator last year who asked me what the biggest issue in the county is and I told him the lack of public transporation so that people can get to and from jobs.

there is no such thing a school bus here in the UK. If you need to use a bus to get to school you are expected to use a public bus service. When I was a child, private bus companies put on buses specially for the school times, but that has become rare. Where I live unless you go to a special select school it is impossible to get to school via a bus. The privately owned public bus services don't run routes with schools in mind anymore. The select schools have hired coaches to run their routes for students who live more than 3 miles from school, but they will only stop at a few set locations. My children didn't get into one of those schools.

The 6th form my children have/will attend(ed) is attached to a select school that is in easy walking distance of our house. If my children had not managed the grades and interview to get into that 6th form we would have needed to drive them to one further away. Fortunately the selection criteria for 6th form is not the same as that for the secondary school. My children didn't meet the social class based criteria for the secondary school.

I always wonder about transporation in places that don't have buses. Like does it make it difficult if parents are working or don't drive? I guess everyone just figures out how to make it work lol.

 

[IntenseMagic]

We don't have school buses.
Parents drive their children to and from school.
Few will walk if they live nearby.
I don't miss having to do Mom's taxi in the slightest.

I loved walking to school. I probably still would if I lived close enough lol

Our school system has their own buses. Because the schools stagger start times, the students that ride buses are not intermixed. Our school system has a lot of country area so those students always ride the bus, at least until they are driving age then they don't have to (or parents can drop off/pick up). I think all elementary students no matter where they live ride the bus but once they get to middle school and high school, those that live close to the school either walk or parents do the drop off/pick up.

All those years ago when I was in school, I would have been a bus rider because my neighborhood has no sidewalks and is not in city limits. Some years I rode with my mom who taught at the school I was attending. Once I got to high school until I started driving, I was a walker since it is only 1/2 of a mile away. That building is now the middle school and I see those students that live in my neighborhood walking especially during the nice weather days.

The bus does not stop at each individual house but at a location that is central to several students, at least in my neighborhood. It may be different in the country where houses are much further apart.

School starts here on the 20th so I'll have to see when they are in the neighborhood to avoid walking the dog at that time!

My youngest rode with me every day because he attended where I work. The older two attended where we live. I very seldom see anyone walking to school anymore.

Where I grew up (a town in San Diego county) and also where I taught (a county in the Los Angeles metro area) in the last few decades of the 20th century, school buses were few. Maybe only for field trips. I don't remember a regular daily bus, but maybe there was something. Personally, I walked a couple blocks to elementary, a mile to middle school, and 2 miles home from my high school (I got car rides to high school in the morning).

So it was a strange thing to me, moving here to Fredericksburg, Virginia and seeing buses all over the place. And even stranger when I learned that you have to get permission to allow your child to walk instead of take the bus, and it's extremely rare that anyone does that. Of course, the schools aren't built safely inside neighborhoods here like the ones where I taught in the 90's. They're on 30-40mph multi-lane roads with no sidewalks. So not only does everyone have access, it's almost the only way. Though, having done parent pick up duty after school for the past few years, I can tell you about 70 families in my elementary school of about 600 students use their car instead of the school bus.

I walked a lot in middle school, but our high school was farther away and on a really busy road so my mom drove us every day until we got our licenses.
Speaking of parent pick up/drop off...they are the worst!! LOL

 

[Lynnette]

I grew up walking to elementary school & high school - actually for high school I hopped over my back fence and was there - but I did take the bus in junior high. I have lots of fun memories riding the bus, and several popular 90s songs remind me of the school bus because so many of them were on repeat during bus rides. Our bus drivers always had the radio on.

We have buses here but, like many of you, kids don't qualify unless they live a certain distance from the school. Our house is in a very unique area in that my kids can walk a short distance to ALL their schools - including a university if they so choose! All the public schools they attend are less than a mile from our house.

 

[Karen]

I live in a "city" of about 8,000 people. We do have school buses. The elementary kids go an hour later than the high school, so they ride separate busses. The pick up spot depends on how many kids are in an area. If it's a neighborhood with many kids, they have a centrally located spot to get picked up, but the more spaced apart kids get picked up at their driveway. I lived further out, so we go picked up at our driveway when I was a kid. In our city, they have something like a one mile radius around the schools, so if you live that close, they won't pick you up.

Now, my kids used to be mad that we sent them to a private school without busses, so we dropped them off at school and picked them up from Kindergarten through 8th grade. THEN, when they started high school at a public high school, it is only a half a block away so they walked. They each joined a sports team in high school and that was the only time they got to ride a school bus anywhere and we both weirdly excited about it.