There is apparently a phenomenon in the US now, where parents drive to the school individually to pick up and drop off their children at the beginning and end of the day. Some people I work with even take time off from working to do this. When the parents descend on the school each day there's insane traffic, cars lined up for miles, all idling their engines. What happened to school buses?
54 Comments
Billy_Gnosis@lemmy.ml · 20 pts · 3y
My son's school charges $630 per year to ride the bus. And that is a public school. I still pay for it though, because, 1. I'm not going to spend my time sitting in a line cars every day. Not to mention take time off from work to do it. 2. I want him to experience life. It's a great place for socialization
SuperZutsuki@lemmy.ml · 5 pts · 3y
So what are working class families supposed to do if they can't afford it and the parents can't get time off work? The kids just don't go to school?
taladar@sh.itjust.works · 1 pts · 3y
I honestly doubt that you can pay for the car needed and your own time required to take your kids to school for those $630 even if you only value your time at something like $2/hour.
Not sure how it works in the US but here in Europe there would probably be programs to pay for it if you can prove you don't have the income to pay it yourself.
Sebastian@xn--trt-tna.sebtobie.de · 3 pts · 3y
@Billy_Gnosis @const_void my school bus ticket costed a bit over 400€ and it was a normal bus ticket which i could use to use the buses in the near vincinity. My parent needed to pay 0€ directly for this.
And this was over 10 years ago, so the price is around 450 now.
Billy_Gnosis@lemmy.ml · 4 pts · 3y
It's crazy. When I was a kid (a long time ago) it cost nothing to ride the bus to school.
dropmiddleleaves@mas.to · 2 pts · 3y
@Billy_Gnosis @Sebastian £17.50 a week, £70 a month, about £682.50 a year, which is $857.56 USD. I cry every-time I check my bank balance 😔
Sebastian@xn--trt-tna.sebtobie.de · 1 pts · 3y
@Billy_Gnosis its completly paid by the county/Kreis, because they are the "owners"
taladar@sh.itjust.works · 2 pts · 3y
Here in Germany there is now a ticket for 49€ a month (588€ a year but you can cancel it every month) that allows you to ride on any public transit and regional trains in the entire country. As an adult too, not just as a student. It is a personalized one though (non-transferable).
Mac@lemmy.world · -4 pts · 3y
"It's a great place for socialization" yeah like being bullied. Lol
Billy_Gnosis@lemmy.ml · 9 pts · 3y
Not sure what school your kids go to, that's type of stuff isn't an issue for mine. I'm sure things do happen, but that's part of growing up and learning. It's called life
jonjennings@lemmy.ca · 18 pts · 3y
You can't expect parents to let their kids WALK to school can you? It's not safe - there's so many cars around! 🙄
branchial@feddit.de · 6 pts · 3y
The yellow school bus is like one of the most recognised US specific object. I thought they were standard issue in the US lol
Leer10@beehaw.org · 3 pts · 3y
I thought so too. I went to a rural high school with 700 people and I'd say at least half took the school busses
baronvonj@lemmy.ml · 3 pts · 3y
Due to people's habit of voting against funding school districts here, there isn't enough funding for all children to be on the bus (ie paying enough drivers). So the busses are reserved for children who live farther. If you live within a certain radius of the school you can pay extra to put your children on the bus.
jonjennings@lemmy.ca · 1 pts · 3y
Small and dense Canadian city here... not sure we even have school buses although I've seen them in other nearby school districts where I assume the catchment areas are wider.
And yes, they're the standard yellow school bus 🙂
Fredselfish@lemmy.ml · 1 pts · 3y
My kids walk to school and we live 4 blocks from the school. I have always allowed mine to walk. Even when they were in elementary school.
I walked to school no reason they can't. And today it's easier because they have phones I can track them on.
jonjennings@lemmy.ca · 3 pts · 3y
There is a nice sweet spot when they're old enough to have phones but not old enough to complain about having you track them 🙂
It's great to have them walk, even when they're very young and you need to walk with them.
Back in my day (insert grandpa Simpson gif here!) I had a 10min walk to a bus stop and caught a public bus. Felt sorry for the adults that had to catch the same bus with 40 wild children.
These days I think my friends' school age kids all walk or cycle - we're in a small city with fairly good bike infrastructure.
10_0@lemmy.ml · 14 pts · 3y
CannaVet@lemmy.world · 8 pts · 3y
This is the big thing about carbrains in the US, it's endemic of a bigger obsession with infinite individuality. Sharing space with another human being is the ULTIMATE taboo. Depressingly far above such things as fascism and pedophilia.
OptimsticDolphin@lemmy.world · 1 pts · 3y
More people can walk in the UK though, that traffic can be bad but it is better than it could be
gunnervi@kbin.social · 14 pts · 3y
When I was in school, the bus route did not stop near my house, and it was too far to walk, and there was no good bike route (though one exists now). In middle and high school I would often walk or bike to a friend's house after school but that wasn't always an option.
This is a situation forced on us by car-centric city planning
jackissocool@urbanists.social · 13 pts · 3y
@const_void
I always walked to school as a kid and it was very high priority to me that the neighborhood I live in now allows my kids to do the same
aplomBomb@midwest.social · 12 pts · 3y
I'm assuming the insane cuts to our public education system trickle down to the bus drivers too
baronvonj@lemmy.ml · 1 pts · 3y
That's a bingo!
DidacticDumbass@lemmy.one · 11 pts · 3y
It is so miserable and effectively shuts down a major street. People will tolerate the dumbest things just because it is the status quo.
arekdirithe@lemmy.blahaj.zone · 11 pts · 3y
When I was a teacher, the main reason so many students were dropped off and picked up at my school was because of what we call “School of Choice.” Essentially instead of parents being required to send their kid to the school their home is zoned for, they can send their kid to any school in the district, but if they do, they have to provide transportation.
maegul@lemmy.ml · 10 pts · 3y
I grew up with this culture, unfortunately, never rode a school bus or saw one.
And yea, it is complete trash. Let's put tiny vulnerable road-unintelligent children, all running around, in the same place as a bunch of stressed out parents driving cars while mostly thinking about work or not being late for work.
What could go wrong!
Shit ... let's reduce the speed limit drastically to prevent accidents! Ok, now it's just a big fat traffic Jam! Shit ... let's build specialised roads within the school to increase the speed of drop off. Ok ... now we've lost some of our school grounds and it's marginally better ... except everyone's driving tanks/four-wheel-drives now so it's pretty dangerous for kids still! Shit lets ...
Seen all of that. It's really really dumb and stressful for kids and parents alike.
taladar@sh.itjust.works · 3 pts · 3y
They aren't really like tanks. Tanks have some design considerations for the driver to notice people in front of the vehicle.
lntl@lemmy.ml · 9 pts · 3y
We don't do school buses anymore? I suppose we have to condition them to drive everywhere in a car from when they're young.
const_void@lemmy.ml · 7 pts · 3y
That's SoCiAlIsT!
Bad_Company_Daps@sh.itjust.works · 4 pts · 3y
Socialism is when School Bus
Mcballs1234@lemmy.ml · 8 pts · 3y
taladar@sh.itjust.works · 1 pts · 3y
Your post reminded me of this Eco Gecko video on the effects of this lack of independence in car-dependent suburbs on children
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RrsL2n9q6d0
milesmcbain@fosstodon.org · 7 pts · 3y
@const_void the school traffic situation was the tipping point for getting a #cargobike for us. Much calmer and faster way to do it, with opportunity for spotting and chatting about stuff going on in the neighbourhood. There’s the occasional poor driver behaviour that affects us but it’s quite rare compared what you get in the car.
Mishmash2000@lemmy.nz · 1 pts · 3y
Nice one! You not only don't have to wait in a queue, the kids get to see a lot more of what's going on around them, you keep fit, save money etc. So many up sides! Unfortunately many places are not set up for safe biking :-/
atocci@kbin.social · 7 pts · 3y
Oh man it's the worst. I used to work in an office next to a high school and a 10-minute drive to work in the summer months became almost an hour as soon as school started.
pkulak@beehaw.org · 6 pts · 3y
FWIW, I live in the US and my kids ride their bikes to and from school. It is possible, but only in a few places.
Tristar500@lemmy.ml · 6 pts · 3y
Completely insane and infuriating every time I see it.
zwerdlds@lemmy.ml · 6 pts · 3y
I live across the street from an elementary school and my driveway is blocked every single day. Including Fridays when I have lunch with my father, who lives out of town, and need to... Park in my driveway. Parents and school districts are inconsiderate fucks.
kxta@lemmygrad.ml · 5 pts · 3y
where I live, there is pretty much always an elementary school within walking distance.
yet, they still drive 🤷♂️
EpicallyFail@sh.itjust.works · 4 pts · 3y
This can depend on a lot of factors, but the biggest is often time. School busses usually can service the overwhelming number of kids in their district, but for some kids that route can add an extra hour before and after school. For kids with after school activities, that could be a non-starter.
vodi@fedia.io · 1 pts · 3y
Which is imho a symptom of car dependent planning. If the kids could bike or if there's a good public transport network they wouldn't lose an hour.
KeefChief12@lemmy.ml · 4 pts · 3y
I was able to walk to school, but I remember the busses only being accessable in certain areas, so some people needed to be dropped off as there was no alternative. I remember one guy getting a taxi everyday.
Venus@slrpnk.net · 4 pts · 3y
What do you mean "now?" Always been like this where I am.
frickityfracktictac@beehaw.org · 1 pts · 3y
It's spreading and you're the epicentre 😧
kCNrnHcEkvqdtLCQoQbK@sopuli.xyz · 3 pts · 3y
I noticed the same thing with a local school in Canada.
It could be because kids aren't within "walking distance" any more, could be because the kids have something to do right after school, could be less bus drivers (because who wants to put up working 4 hours per day for minimum wage dealing with all those kids), or finally just the culture has changed (to driving everywhere).
TauZero@mander.xyz · 4 pts · 3y
School buses are Communism! You can't expect Little Johnny to share a bus with other children now, can you? He will wait 30 minutes every day in the school dropoff
traffic jamqueue inside his private vehicle like a good American. /sCoolbootyjames@lemmy.ml · 3 pts · 3y
Where I live we never had school buses, so I was always dropped off at school and would walk home. I used to think it was odd to have a school bus pick kids up, though that was before I realized how fucked car centricity is
Pateecakes@lemmy.world · 3 pts · 3y
Not exactly a new thing. My kid rides the bus except for special occasions, but those drop off/pick up lines are crazy. I don't get how people handle that every day.
Fal@yiffit.net · 2 pts · 3y
Are you suggesting they wouldn't have to take time off if they walked to the school, then home, then back to work?
iridaniotter@lemmygrad.ml · 2 pts · 3y
This isn't new. 20 years ago when I was a kid, my school both buses, walking/cycling, and car drop-off. It's definitely a failure of urban planning.
bionicjoey@lemmy.ca · 2 pts · 3y
When I was in high school my dad dropped me off in the morning, but he worked a block away from my school.
After school I took the public bus, but it took almost an hour from when the final bell rang to when I got home, since the bus didn't come very frequently and didn't drop me off very close to my parents' suburban house.
DawnOfRiku@lemmy.world · 2 pts · 3y
I went from being able to walk to school where I used to live, to the bus being my only feasible option where I live now and during middle/high school. Only got picked up when absolutely necessary, because my dad's commute times didn't quite line up. After school stuff was something I only got to experience in the walking days, and the brief time a friend volunteered to take me home from the robotics club he was already in (which unfortunately dissolved like 2 weeks after).