What time of the morning does the school bus pass your place?

[Kyle_in_Tex]

Rant alert.

Our school bus is supposed to come at 6:20 am. This is about 15-60 minutes before dawn. I don't want my 5 and 8 year old daughters having to wait for the bus in the dark. I know there are others that have to get up even earlier than we do. We are near the start of the route which is because we are the closest to town. If they reversed the route, and picked up the farthest away kids first, then their time of pickup should be about 10-15 minutes later (6:30-6:40). Also, this bus has all ages of kids from 5 year olds to seniors. Not the best scenario.

I do take them down there and wait in the car. It's just that school doesn't start until 8 am and an hour plus ride on the bus is a long time for a 5 year old.

Thinking about complaining to the school board. Do I have a leg to stand on? I know the alternative is taking them myself.

 

[riptides]

We dealt with this in our area. The 6:20 bus and an hour ride.

The counties solution was to build another high school and redistrict/redistribute the bus routes.

Our solution was to drive them down the driveway, and wait till they came of age to drive themselves in.

 

[timster2]

I don't have any kids in school, however, the High School bus stops at 6:50 for the kids down the road from me. There are several buses that go up and down my road I assume they are for different grades. They start running a little after six. I have a friend that is a school bus driver and will ask her when I get back, I am out of town for a wedding at the moment.

 

[300UGUY]

Long bus rides are pretty common in rural schools. I don't see any real fix.

 

[kc5dlo]

I dont have any kids but have made some observations. The bus rolls down the street at about 6am. The kids on our street are the first to get on and always has been. Then in the afternoon, it shows up about 6PM. The driver often will stop in the circle in front of the house and do a walk thru of the bus closing windows and such as the last kids to drop off are on our street. It always made me wonder why they did not change the route up so that the kids that spent the most time on the bus in the morning could be dropped off first in the afternoon. That really makes for a long day for a school kid, especially if you factor in homework.

 

[brin]

Bus comes by here at 6AM sharp....they are out of school at 2:45 PM & yes it is dark...so my Son sits with his daughter in the car at the end of his driveway waiting for the bus.

 

[Gale Hawkins]

The K-12 on the same bus for 30 hours a month was one reason I gave into homeschooling. Not a cheap option and we are still three years from college so the results are not fully known. 30 hours with 'teachers' we did not know at a young age concerned me. Other parents talked about the need to deprogram language learned, etc. Having graduated in 1969 I think things are very different today.

 

[MacLawn]

I'm still asleep, so don't know, but I feel for the little ones having to ride buses so long!

 

[Uncle Doug]

The high school/ Jr high bus comes about 6 am here. The problem is now days with the cut backs buses are making 2 runs to the same area in the mornings then again in the afternoons. When my kids were in school they just sent 2 different buses. Glad all my kids are out of school now.

 

[Steve IA]

As a rural school bus driver, I suggest calling the school first. Our district has a Director of Transportation who handles such issues, if it can be handled, or explains it to you if it can't. Also have a short [he/she's on a schedule] friendly chat with your driver when he/she picks up or lets off your kids, politely voicing your concerns. We have little latitude as to changing our routes but a driver's recommendation to the D of T goes a long way if it can be done. We, as drivers, want the safest and shortest ride for the students, as do you. In Iowa, students can be on a bus no more than 1 hour morning or afternoon. YMMV.