school transportation

[emmasmommy]

do you take your kid/kids to school or do they ride the bus....or i guess do they walk or ride their bike or something else?

we weren't sure that emma was going to have the same bus stop this year so i had told her that i would take her to school (our town is so small...it's not like it's out of my way TO take her). well, i found out tonight that she will have the same bus stop and i'm going to take it back and make her ride the bus :/ i know she's going to be upset but it's much easier for me than loading up mads and the other 2 kids i will be babysitting and take them to school as well. *sigh*

so my inner monologue with myself made me curious about what others kids do. lol

[Jengerbread88]

Mom drives Jeffrey to school. He wanted desperately to ride the bus so she tried it for a few months, but then he decided it wasn't as fun as he thought it would be, so that ended pretty quickly.

[AmberK]

we dont have the option of putting Drew on the bus. We live too close to the school but too far to let him walk. So I take him everyday.

[mariewilcox]

Bus - it's only about 5 miles to her school, but she takes the bus to school. Due to sports practices after school she usually only takes the bus home on Fridays.

[jacinda]

We only live about 5 minutes walk to Brooke's school and Elisa's kindy, so unless it's horrible weather, we walk. Hubby would have us walk in the rain too (that's why we have raincoats he says). Umm....I don't think so buddy. That's why cars were made. LOL

[NeverendingJen]

Bus(well, last year when the kids lived with us we did the bus). we live far enough to have it, if I drove them we'd literally have to leave right after the bus left to get them to school on time too.

[Traci Reed]

We live out of district so we drive.

[heathergw]

we just walk downstairs to the family room

[Leila]

When JP was in a brick & mortar school, he walked unless the weather was bad. We were less than ¼ mile from the school, I could see it from my driveway. I'm pretty sure there were no bused students unless they were on IEPs. Madison zoned the schools well enough that everyone was within their 1.5 mile range. Here, they're doing a virtual charter program again, but if they were to attend the public school up the street, they'd have to walk since we're within two miles. Funding for busing was eliminated last year, so only students more than two miles out get any transportation unless it's in an IEP.

[rach3975]

We're technically walkers, but I drove Jason for K and 1st. One of the streets he'd have to cross is too busy for him to cross alone, IMO. Sometimes in the afternoon we (me and the younger 2) walked to school and met him, but it's hard enough to get everyone out on time in the morning without having to leave extra early to walk 15 minutes each way.

This year I think we'll have to drive all the time. Ben is starting K, and with his physical special needs he's going to have a hard enough time getting through a full day of school. I doubt he'll have enough energy to walk home and don't want to embarrass him by putting him in a stroller in front of his classmates. The school offered to bus him, but there's no point since I'd still have to get Jason. We'll see how he does once he has the surgery for his sleep apnea next week, but I still think he's going to be too wiped by the end of the day to walk.

[kscwgirl]

We're out of district, so I take them and Mom picks them up.

[Megan Turnidge]

We literally live like 5 houses down from Allie's preschool, so we walk. BUT they said she can still ride the bus if she wants. lol She gets sad when she can't ride home on the bus.... she reaaaaaallllyyy wants to ride the bus with her new friends. I might let her ride it home from now on just because she thinks it's so exciting, but continue to walk her there in the morning.

[Sarah8914]

We are like 5 houses away from the school so we walk. Even in bad weather. Better than loading up 3 other kids to drive 30 seconds away and sit in traffic forever.

However, our school district now CHARGES for riding the bus!! $185/semester/kid. (okay, second kid is actually $135!). I think it's crazy to have to pay, and crazier to be THAT much. I already heard of one school that won't have any buses now because people don't want to pay. I'm glad it isn't an issue for us!

[emmasmommy]

oh man, sarah. if we had to pay mine DEFINITELY wouldn't be riding the bus

[Misty Cato]

My son is a walker. I walk him to and from in any and every weather condition.

When Mya starts preschool in a few weeks, I will have to drive her since it is a different school and too far to walk.

[Julie Billingsley]

I drive Logan. He goes to a charter school so there aren't buses. We live about .75 miles from his school and I'd like to walk it, but it seems we are always in a rush and have to drive. I wouldn't let him walk it alone until he was like 12, and by then he will be in middle school elsewhere anyway.

[haydensmommy217]

i will be walking and picking up Hayden everyday from school.

[isaacsmom]

Well, here, buses aren't provided for most kids. Since DS is deaf, he qualifies for special education and thus bus services. So, I take him and my other son to daycare and the bus picks him up from daycare and takes him to school and then drops him back off at daycare when school is over. Then I pick them both up from daycare when I am off of work.

[tuneskids]

I think we will be busing this year, even though "technically", we live close enough for the boys to walk, they would have to walk on a range road, so they are eligible to take a bus. From what I was told, all three kids would be on the same bus, they would go drop Jenna off at the junior high (grades 5-9, which is at the opposite end of the "town", then drop the boys off at the community school (grades K-4). It would be reverse on the way home.

I am not 100% certain this is how it works, just what I was told when I registered the boys in the new school. I will get to find out next week, when I get my letter in the mail detailing pickup & drop off times.

Last year, only Quinten was eligible for busing, since we lived within walking distance, but as a Kindy student, he got pickup and drop off. I just drove them every day, since I had to start work about 20 minutes after school started. I would pick Quin up after I finished work, and drop him off at school around 12:20, then head back and pick them all up at 3 when they finished for the day.

[HeatherKS]

I take the girls to school in the morning since I have to be to work at 8:30 anyway. I drop them off around 8:00, drop the boy at the sitter, and roll into work on time (most days ). They ride the bus home every day though unless for some reason I'm still in town when they get out.

[KristinCB]

All 3 depending on the day.. She rides the bus most days but isn't a huge fan - all the kids sorta bother her and I can understand that. In nicer weather she walks with a friend which is a decent walk - I'm still not completely comfortable with it because of where we live (not strangers but animals to be aware of) but the boy she walks with is going into grade 5 this year so its pretty safe. She gets rides some days if we are running late or she begs enough :P

[kresta]

Originally Posted by Julie Billingsley

I drive. . . .goes to a charter school so there aren't buses.

This is us exactly.

[[michele]]

I did the dropoff/pickup thing for six+ years and now they all ride a bus. This coming school year all three will be at three different schools with three different dropoff/pickup times so I think I would actually pay if necessary!

I switched to buses because a. saves gas - we live fairly close but I always got there early and blasted the heater/ac on super cold/hot days and b. I know it sounds petty but I had just had it with all the morons that couldn't handle something as basic as school dropoff/pickup!

[DawnMarch]

We drop the kids on the way to work.

[littlekiwi]

I catch the bus to and from uni or on nice days I might walk to/from the train

[scrapweaver]

We live about 4kms from the primary school, my 8y/o qualifies for free bus so she buses it (unless we're running late lol).

My high schoolers catch 3 buses to school - we live 45km from the closest high schools. It's a long day for them but they got used to it. We cant afford to run them into town then go back in and pick them up in the afternoon . . even now that I work, it's just too hard. We had to pay for years until a lovely head teacher organised free travel because they are diagnosed . .

[Penny Springmann]

We drive them in the am. The bus comes at 6:25 ack!, but if we drive them we can leave at 7:00. In the afternoon they take the bus home.

[nikkiARNGwife]

Avery goes to a private school and they don't run buses. We only live like 2.2 miles from school though so at least it's not a long commute for us. Some parents drive from across the county! This year is better though in that I can actually drop him at the door instead of having to get out and walk him to his room which they want you to do still in Kindy. Yay for 1st grade! lol

[MissKim]

I hate the bus. My youngest is in 6th grade and is on the bus for an hour and a half (so far) on the way home. I have complained, but it was still that late yesterday. Scheduled time is more like an hour and 15 minutes. We only live about 10 miles from the school. However, I'm a teacher and get that they have to arrange bus routes in a certain way... blah blah blah....

Unfortunately, her school is in the opposite direction from my work and when the bus can pick her up right outside our door...

This is the last year she'll ride the bus. Next year she'll be in junior high and on the same schedule as the high school, so my older daughter can drive her. Isn't that scary?!?

[LibbysMommy]

This year, we're homeschooling so we just make the trek to the school room, but last year my mother in law drove Libby to school and I picked her up...her school was only just across town, so it was no biggie. She wanted to ride the bus, but it seemed silly since the bus stop was actually out of our way.

[Stacey42]

We live at the outer edge of the county & the schools are in the center, so we are about 22-25 miles from school. And there is absolutely no reason for me to be anywhere near their schools 99% of the time so they ride the bus.

We're rural and the bus stops at the end of everyone's driveway. Even if those driveways are 10 yards apart, so it's incredibly easy for us to catch the bus. And there is just the one bus that comes. All the kids from K to 12th get on the same bus & are dropped off at their various schools, so I only ever have one bus to worry about. Ever.

[ColleenSwerb]

This is fascinating to me that so many either don't get buses, or there ARE no buses, or what have you. Maybe it's a regional thing? Funding for buses would NEVER get cut here, or home in NY. Funding for extra, after school activity buses (like for sports) would get cut (rarely) but even then it was cut from 3 bus times down to 1 (at 5:30 when the varsity sports ended).
My siblings and I were all bused, all the time. There were 89430282930 kids on our street, so we always got to the bus stop early (when we were younger) and played games until the bus came. I was bused until I got my license and got a parking pass, and then I drove to school. My senior year my brother and sister got to come in with me (freshman and sophomores). There was 1 year in between me graduating and my sister getting her license, so that year my mom drove them in, lol. Lucky brats.

[Laurarae13]

You can see the high school from our house, but of course my son still drives. It ain't cool to walk!

[Shawna]

We live right down the street from our kids' school so riding the bus isn't an option. Right now the girls walk to & from school every day as long as the weather is nice (if it's raining or snowing we drop them off). But Kyle starts 1/2 day preK at their school next week and so I'll be walking with them in the mornings and picking him up when he gets out.

[chastml]

DH drops the kids off at school on his way to work in the morning. The bus arrives super early, because our bus does 2 different routes and they have to be able to get all the kids to all the schools on time. In the afternoon, they ride the bus home and because our route is the super early morning route, it's the first afternoon route too. They're only on the bus about 30 minutes.

[HeatherKS]

Originally Posted by ColleenSwerb

This is fascinating to me that so many either don't get buses, or there ARE no buses, or what have you. Maybe it's a regional thing? Funding for buses would NEVER get cut here, or home in NY. Funding for extra, after school activity buses (like for sports) would get cut (rarely) but even then it was cut from 3 bus times down to 1 (at 5:30 when the varsity sports ended).
My siblings and I were all bused, all the time. There were 89430282930 kids on our street, so we always got to the bus stop early (when we were younger) and played games until the bus came. I was bused until I got my license and got a parking pass, and then I drove to school. My senior year my brother and sister got to come in with me (freshman and sophomores). There was 1 year in between me graduating and my sister getting her license, so that year my mom drove them in, lol. Lucky brats.

With all of the education budget cuts, they discussed stopping busing in our district last year. With over 50% of the district's students being rural kids (mine included) you can imagine how well that went over. It didn't pass and the issue hasn't been discussed again as far as I know. They did rearrange some bus routes so that they are being more efficient so that must have helped too.

[taracotta7]

I will be taking Landon and picking him up. We have buses that run in our neighborhood but I am having trouble letting go. I will admit it. The control freak in me HAS to be the one to get him there and bring him home. Every once in a while I will allow my DH or my mom to do it. See, I am TRYING to get better! LOL

[ColleenSwerb]

Originally Posted by HeatherKS

With all of the education budget cuts, they discussed stopping busing in our district last year. With over 50% of the district's students being rural kids (mine included) you can imagine how well that went over. It didn't pass and the issue hasn't been discussed again as far as I know. They did rearrange some bus routes so that they are being more efficient so that must have helped too.

I'm wondering if it's a school district size thing. I'm not sure of sizes here in MD, but in NY we had pretty big school districts. So lots of kids were more rural, and lots of kids were farther away. I mean, my brother graduated in 2004 with close to or over 500 kids in his class. Can you imagine all those kids, plus younger grades, all getting driven into school every morning? Disaster! (The high school and middle school are right next to each other and start very close together in time, and there's an elementary school right in the area too. Total traffic chaos.)
But yea. Morning and afternoon buses are never cut, and never even considered. It's all the field trips, activity buses, etc that get cut.

[mummytothree]

When my oldest started kindergarten I was that crazy mom who said her kid would never ride the bus...for god sake they don't even have seatbelt!!!! Then after like 3 months of hauling her back and forth and dragging my other 2 kids out in the nasty weather..I said screw it and put her on the bus!!! Since then I happily put my kids on the bus everyday!!! It helps that we only live 1 mile from the little kids school and about 4 miles from the big kids school!!! My kids love to ride the bus (they cry if I have to drop them off or pick them up), our bus driver is a dream....she doesn't take crap from no one!

That's not to say I wouldn't drive my kids if I thought they were unsafe, being harrassed, learning "bad" things or were in danger....but at this point in time They are safe and happy and having a ball....so the ride the bus!!!

[MamaBee]

All the nightmares I've had due to being bullied during the ride on the bus as a kid... *shutter*... We are at 95% sure we are going to homeschool... the bus is one of the reasons (small reason) for our decision. If J does go to charter school... I would drive him there because of the bus memories... its only like a mile and half away... because of hwy41, you have to walk way out your way to be safe walking to get there... the faster way doesn't have sidewalks.

[Becca Bonneville]

Our school is rural so they all ride the bus to and from school. My daughter is in Pre K so they are only half day.. so she rides the bus to school (she is in the AM class) and I have to pick her up after.

[lauren grier]

I drive ce - we have safety concerns outside the norm though.

There aren't sidewalks all the way to the elementary school, so the city buses everyone even the kids that live literally around the corner. It's a tad ridiculous

[aggiefamily]

I am not sure what I will be doing this year. Since we are in a new town and new school I will be trying a combination of walking/riding until I figure out what works. I think it will be walking (with me) a majority of the time. We are two streets over from the school and if I walk a couple house over I can see the school. On bad weather days (or 100+ temps) I will drive and pick them up.

Our previous school districts bus requirements were that you have to live beyond a 2 mile radius from the school or had to cross a major (4 lane+) road.

[SweetMelissa]

My kids don't go to school yet but when they do I'm going to drive them. We (currently) live too close for Troy to take the bus but at 6 its way to far. Then the private school we are looking at putting Rachel in doesn't have a bus system. Thankfully its only a 2 minute car ride from our house.

[maggie965]

We don't have busing I drive my daughter to school and either me, my dad or hubby picks her up. My son is in high school and he goes in another town so he takes a bus.

[kim21673]

I will be walking Jason to school when the weather is nice. We move next week and our new house is literally around the corner from his elementary school!! Of course on REALLY cold, rainy or snowy I will drive him b/c I will have the two other boys with me and since Derek is still a baby he doesn't need to be out in the extreme weather...and he can't walk so that would make pushing him interesting if we get the snow we got last year!!

Aaron took the bus to junior high and high school. He didn't get his license until after he graduated (his choice) and with a little one in the house what seemed like every year there was no way I was dragging them out at 7:00 am to take him to school.

So...to make a long story short....we will walk or I will drive him the 2 minute drive to school!

Oh...and I will be driving Seth to preschool

[SmallMoments]

He rides with me. Since his classroom right next door to me and all. LOL

[Jennilyn]

They ride the bus! Where we used to live I had to drive my oldest to school and back every day. Really annoying when you have another child to drag with you, especially in the winter when it's crappy and freezing out! LOVE that they get bussed and I don't have to get dressed in the mornings!

[newfiemountiewife]

We have always lived within "walking" distance, which wasn't really close enough if you were 5 years old, so we drove them. Where we live now, the school is just on the street below us, so the kids take a shortcut through the neighbour's yard and walk. We are moving sometime this month or next, so they will be in the busing area and will take the bus most of the time. DH works in the mornings sometimes, and will drop them if they want, but I'm sure my girls will still want to do the bus, they love the bus, it's always a treat for them!

I was never a fan of dragging all of the kids out, when Benjamin was in kindy, I used to have to wake Rae from her nap to go get him when he was on afternoon kindy...it sucked!

[nesser1981]

If it snice we walk, we're 3 streets away from the school, during the winter though, I drove. And Cooper's preschool is 7 miles away and I'll have to take him. No bus service for the preschool, but I wouldn't let them ride the bus. I hated it as kid, so I'll skip the bus experience for my kiddos. Maybe in middle school, but we'll see.