Those Pesky School Buses

Went to Wal-Mart early on Monday. Got what I needed and started the drive home. Came up toward Robin Springs Apartments, one of Middletown's prized Section 8 dwellings. Made the mistake of getting behind a school bus. There are three driveways to Robin Springs, each about 50 to 60 feet apart. Stopped for the school bus at the first driveway. Approximately 15 to 20 kids got on the bus. The bus stopped at the second driveway, 50 feet up the road and loaded another 10 to 15 kids on the bus. Stopped a third time, you guessed it, about 50 feet further up the road to load another 15 to 20 kids on. By this time, my patience had run out. It would be inappropriate for me to repeat what I was saying in the car on a public forum.

I have also noticed that the school bus stops at one house on my block after school, providing door to door service for one kid, when the bus stop is at Rosedale and Rachel Ln. in the morning when the kids are picked up for school. Why does that occur?

If Ms. Andrew reads this, could she explain why the bus has to stop three times in a 150 foot distance when the kids could walk to the second, most centralized location and all get on at once, with the bus stopping traffic only once? Isn't this more logical than the situation I described above? This is an illogical practice IMO. It wastes gas, causes wear and tear on the bus, slows down the pick-up process and inconviences the public.

Thank you, in advance Ms. Andrew, for your response.

Petty....perhaps.....certainly assinine in thinking to have three groups of kids waiting at three locations less than 60 feet apart, wouldn't you say Support. Have a hard time dealing with what appears to be illogical thinking. Perhaps there is some reason why this has to be. That's why I asked Ms. Andrew to inform on this situation.

On Monday, when I observed this situation, the sidewalks were clear. Even if the sidewalks were snow covered, do you mean to tell me we can't require a kid to walk 50 feet to a centralized location? More coddling....more protection from the real world. We're spoiling a whole generation of kids, aren't we? We ain't doin' them amy favors in preparation for the working world are we?

Vet,

Ms. Andrew. Thank you for the response and follow-up.

The student I was referring to lives two houses down from mine. I have talked to him. He is neither pre-school nor special needs. He walks up to the designated bus stop at Rosedale and Rachel in the mornings. He is dropped off at his house and is the last rider on the 66 passenger bus in the afternoon when he is dropped off in front of his house, AFTER the bus varies from the designated route on Rosedale and makes a right turn on Rachel to his house. It appears to be door to door service to me. No big deal. Just didn't know that we are providing such specialized service with such a large 66 passenger bus.

Don't understand the concept for the three separate pick-ups/drop-offs at Robin Springs. You say it is to make sure they get home and don't congregate in a large group? Have they done this in the past? Once the bus drops off the kids, it leaves doesn't it? The bus driver and assistant don't sit there to make sure every kid walks in their apartment door do they? How do they know that after the bus leaves, the kids don't gather again in larger groups? Has there been behavioral problems with large groups of what appeared to be elementary age kids there? Trying to understand the reasoning here with this monitoring/safety policy.

Well alright Smartman! (although I was just starting to get use to the panties/mangina thing.

Vet I have to agree with you the kids are being spoiled today.When I was a kid I walked to school,it was 8 miles round trip.I remember one winter the weather was so bad and the snow so deep that by the time I got to school the other kids had graduated and the teacher had retired.

 

We had to cross a river on the way to school,we'd strip down and put our clothes in a bundle and hold them over our heads as we swam across.The towns people got angry at the state when they built a bridge across that river,everyone said they spent good money on spoiling us kids.

 

By the time I was in highschool we got our first school bus which meant I didn't have to walk anymore.School was 4 miles away from our house,the bus had a 25 mile route to pick up kids and was a two and a half hour ride.I quit riding after the second day cause I could get to school a lot quicker than that bus.With the new bridge I didn't have to swim the river anymore and that saved me 15 minutes on the trip.

 

So yeah I agree kids today are just spoiled.

Don't forget that in the winter with the snow you hopped there instead of walked so only one foot would get frostbite, then hopped back on the other foot (uphill, both ways) that afternoon.