Too-Long Bus Rides

amother

Wed, Jul 12 2023, 10:38 pm

School is finally coming to a close, and I'm so happy my son doesn't have to go on the 45-minute traffic-induced bus ride anymore. He gets nauseous and uncomfortable. Also, there is lots of fighting on the bus. He gets to school already worn out, and comes home cranky and tired. Any tips for next year?

amother

Lemonchiffon

Wed, Jul 12 2023, 11:32 pm

A bus route generally takes an hour. So 45 minutes it's within the normal range in congested areas.
You can take him to school every day or arrange private transportation. There's no bus monitor? Definitely mention the fighting to the school.

amother

Beige

Thu, Jul 13 2023, 1:56 am

amother Lemonchiffon wrote:

Omg where do you live where bus rides take an hour? What a nightmare for kids, early in the morning and after a long day of school!

Elfrida

Thu, Jul 13 2023, 3:45 am

It might, somehow, have become accepted for a child to have an hour long commute twice a day, but that doesn't mean it is either normal or desirable. As an adult, I avoid jobs that are more than half an hour away, because I don't want to commit so much of my time to travelling.

Unfortunately, the only solution for a child is either to go to a closer school, or for the parents to drive them. There are various natural remedies you can try to help with the nausea, and you might want to look into that. The noise and fighting are almost inevitable with a bunch of bored children.

amother

Lemonchiffon

Thu, Jul 13 2023, 9:10 am

amother Beige wrote:

Omg where do you live where bus rides take an hour? What a nightmare for kids, early in the morning and after a long day of school!

I live in Monsey but this is the normal in Brooklyn as well. The kids that are on the bus long in the morning, are not on the bus long in the afternoon, and vice versa.

tzipis

Thu, Jul 13 2023, 1:10 pm

My son got out at 4:00 this year and came home 5:15. He absolutely hated the long rides and on extra hard days he would come home sobbing and just really angry. Regarding the fighting, I spoke to the school. They assigned seats and would switch seats when they saw it was a bad shidduch. This helped a lot. I also picked up my son once a week from school to show that I cared. It made him happier somewhat

amother

Aquamarine

Thu, Jul 13 2023, 1:30 pm

tzipis wrote:

School assigning seats only works if the school owns the busses and hires the drivers.

In Lakewood, 80% of the bussing is done by 3rd parties. We're lucky if we have the same driver every day. The bus company is just trying to get the route covered.
Expecting the driver to deal with fights and mediate while he's driving through Lakewood traffic is absolutely unfair.

tzipis

Thu, Jul 13 2023, 1:55 pm

I am from Lakewood and our busing was not private. The school took care of all disciplining. All the driver had to do was report the problems to the school (and parents reported problems as well). Believe me he was grateful to have any big issues addressed. I will consider ourselves lucky that we had the same driver for most of the year.