A schoolbus just came by. . .

[jinman]

. . . at 6:35 am. It's still very dark outside and we aren't anywhere near to the shortest days of the season. My road has the first/earliest pickup for the schoolbus. There's a little 10 yo girl (daughter of a fireman) who rides the bus to school about 10 miles away. Knowing what I know about kids, I'd bet her mom has to start getting her up at least by 5:00 am so she can be dressed and fed and out front to catch the bus. I'm sure this is common in my area and probably many others. I may have become an ol' softy, but it just seems that bus drivers, parents, and children who do this daily need to be commended. School is so much more than sitting in a classroom. It's dedication mixed with a lot of love. God bless everyone and keep them safe.

 

[wjoerob]

I still take my 17-yr.-old daughter, a junior, out to catch the bus. We have a LONG driveway. They started back to school Aug. 17th. This last week, it's been pretty dark when we go out there. And it will only get worse for a while. They changed the Daylight Savings Time change so now it comes in November or something. Wouldn't be so bad, except the dome light in the pickup doesn't work. I get the newspaper when I go out, but can't read it until I get back to the house.

 

[n8wrl]

Around here (rural SC) K-5 kids go first with bus pickup times ~6:30am. Then Jr and Sr High around 7:30. I know they all share the same buses, but it makes no sense to me that the little kids go so much earlier. As I recall it was the opposite when I was a kid - in high school I caught a 6:15 bus and was out of school at 2:30 so I could go to work!

 

[Mike Costello]

My 3 daughters are up at 5.30AM and leave to catch the bus by 6.50AM. They walk about 1/3 mile to the bus stop. In bad weather, I'll take them to the stop and wait with them.
I've chatted with the bus driver--he's a real saint with good humor and lots of patience. He won't put up with bad behavior and yet the kids all respect him. My hat is off to him.

 

[charlz]

I dunno what's worse the earlier times or the later times. Last year my kids were both in grade school so the bus picked them up at 8:15am and dropped them off at 4:15pm. Makes it tough when both parents work, fortunately I have a job where I can work from home or do most of my job with Blackberry email and cellphone.

This year my daughter is in middle school so the bus picks her up at 7:05 and drops her off about 3:15pm. At least with that schedule you have a fighting chance of getting to work on time in the morning

 

[scgargoyle]

There's a bus picking up in our neighborhood at 5:30 AM.

 

[jinman]

There's a bus picking up in our neighborhood at 5:30 AM.

Maybe I should just ask a question. At what hour do you say that's too early? At what hour does riding the bus become a liability rather than an asset? Does it make sense to put your kid on the bus when it's three hours until the first class begins? I would hate to be a parent who had to make that decision. For years I got up at 4:30 am and left for work by 6:30 for a 1-1/2 hour commute. If I had to leave at 5:30, I think I'd find another job or move closer.

 

[Uncle Doug]

The high school bus picks up along our road well before 6am. School starts at 7:20 am. This routine was started several years ago when the buses started making 2 runs each route to cut down on the number of buses and drivers. Most that can afford it will drive their kids to school then the kids ride the bus home.

 

[chucko]

My wife drives a bus. First stop is 5:00am

 

[Bird]

Really big changes in school busses and schedules, as with everything else. I don't remember what time the bus came, but when I was a kid and rode a school bus, I got up at 5:30 a.m., went to the barn and milked the cow, then ate breakfast, and then caught the bus. And both then, and when I drove a school bus (1960-61), all 12 grades rode the same bus on the same route and schedule. When I drove the bus, I was working another job from 9:30 p.m. to 6 a.m., so I'd get off work at 6 a.m., drive about 16 miles to get the bus, then stop for coffee and donut at a local shop with the other 3 drivers, before going on the route.

 

[EddieWalker]

Some of those times are really amazing. I start off my day every morning by walking to the front gate with our kids to wait for the bus. We leave the house and 6:50 and wait anywhere from two minutes to fifteen minutes. Most of the time, it's just a five minute wait. We're the second stop, so it's really more about when the bus leaves the school as to when it will actually get here.

I enjoy it. It's "my" time with the kids where we get to hang out and have our little ritual. We always walk regardless of how cold it is unless its pouring out. A few times we've been hit by a few sprinkles, but mostly we watch the sun rise and see what birds are out flying. The ducks are a highlight, but the brewster black birds are the real run ones to see. They fly by in flocks that number in the tens of thousands. It's like a loud, dark cloud flying by. Really amazing!!!!

We've seen foxes, coyotes, hogs and deer. We see all sorts of vehicles and they are fun to talk about too. Especially with some of the things we see on the backs of the flatbeds. War vehicles, mining equipment and things we just can't figure out what they are.

I never road a bus to school. I think this is something that they will look back on when they grow up and think of as fun times. I know they love riding on the bus and being with their friends, so it's all good.

Eddie

 

[Uncle Doug]

I never road a bus to school. I think this is something that they will look back on when they grow up and think of as fun times. I know they love riding on the bus and being with their friends, so it's all good.

Eddie

Kids are ok with riding the bus up until high school. Then a few of their friends get a car then all of a sudden the bus is not cool any more.

We always called it the big yellow limo. Even after one of them had a car but for some reason, no gas money or broke down we would tell them to just wait on the yellow limo it will be by soon. Of course when my kids were in school there was only one bus on this route and it did not come before 7am.

 

[tommu56]

My wife drives bus for the school district but picks up private school kids and takes them to school.

She can take the our 2 grand children on buss with her we get them up at 4:45 and they are out our door at 5:10 here first stop is at 5:30 for the regular stops.

She has about 15 will calls they rarely get picked up.
They have to call the day before to get picked up in the morning she has had to pick kids up at 5:00 if she gets 3 or 4 of the will calls in one day.

The real kicker is in bad weather she is on the road with the buss by the time the school district calls home to tell here school is called off or an hour or two late.


I use to drive too but I lost my Patience after a couple of years of driving.

Tom

 

[irvingj]

Agree with "hats off to bus drivers!" I work in classrooms with 6-7-8th graders, but really don't think I could handle a bus full of kids!!

 

[dave1949]

Maybe I should just ask a question. At what hour do you say that's too early? At what hour does riding the bus become a liability rather than an asset? Does it make sense to put your kid on the bus when it's three hours until the first class begins? I would hate to be a parent who had to make that decision. For years I got up at 4:30 am and left for work by 6:30 for a 1-1/2 hour commute. If I had to leave at 5:30, I think I'd find another job or move closer.

Exactly. My son used to get on the bus around 6:30am, not so bad but the strange thing was, they didn't reverse the routes in the afternoon. The first on were the last off. No reason for it other than stupidity. We lived in a small town in Maine, nothing like the spaces and distances out west.
Dave.

 

[randy41]

I drive a school bus in a rural area. I pick up the first kid at 6:35 AM. School starts at 7:40 AM. Its true that the first one on is the last one off but this isn't due to stupidity, its due to the distance they live from the school. In the morning I pick up all the kids that live along my route, whether they are elementary age or high school age. In the PM I only haul elementary kids.

 

[Bird]

I don't know what they're doing now, but I've never seen routes like that. Both when I was a kid and rode a bus, and when I drove a bus, we went the same route morning and evening (all 12 grades on one bus) so the first on in the morning was the first off in the evening.

 

[dave1949]

Well, if you think about it, would you need to have some kids riding the bus for a total of 1 1/2 hours a day while others ride the same bus 10 mins per day?

Like I say, it wasn't due to distance, the whole town is only 10 miles square. The bus doesn't travel any farther to reverse the route when it is parked in a central bus compound overnite. I can see where it could be further in some cases where the bus sits in the driver's home driveway overnight.

Like Jinman says, it can start to be a liability for the kids. One can have the cows milked, or homework done (or whatever) before the other even gets off the bus.

Dave.

 

[randy41]

I think the bus routes here cover more distance than what you guys are familiar with. It wouldn't make sense to drive right past a kids house and not drop him off after school so he wouldn't be the last on and the first off. We pick up every kid at their house...there's no centralized bus stops. Many of these roads around here are too dangerous for kids to be walking along, especially in the dark.
Also, the elementary school I drive for is a half an hour away from the high school. so the high schoolers switch to the high school buses in the morning at the elementary school. They run 7 buses to the elementary school and then but 2 to the high school.
O, also, i keep my bus at my house, not at a central location.

 

[dave1949]

I think the bus routes here cover more distance than what you guys are familiar with. It wouldn't make sense to drive right past a kids house and not drop him off after school so he wouldn't be the last on and the first off. We pick up every kid at their house...there's no centralized bus stops. Many of these roads around here are too dangerous for kids to be walking along, especially in the dark.
Also, the elementary school I drive for is a half an hour away from the high school. so the high schoolers switch to the high school buses in the morning at the elementary school. They run 7 buses to the elementary school and then but 2 to the high school.
O, also, i keep my bus at my house, not at a central location.

Of course you wouldn't drive past a stop, but that only applies if your route isn't some sort of loop - that is reversible. I think many larger bussing districts use computer programs to find the most economical bus routes. I wonder if one of the input options is to equalize 'ride time'?

If you live near your driver bus route and the bus stays at your house, and you happen to live closer to the far end than the school, it would be more economical to drive towards the school in the am and toward home in the pm. In other cases, the distance won't vary much no matter what direction the route is run - and it would be reversible at no or little cost.

Granted there are traffic safety and corner clearance issues sometimes that determine how the larger busses need to go.

It's good to hear you pick up the kids at their homes. That is the safest way for sure. Some districts try to save gas money by having the kids walk to central pickup. What parent of an elementary student would enjoy that?

Do you ever want to wear ear plugs
Dave.