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Thursday, March 6, 2008
Fewer bus-riders
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
I left a school the other day a good hour before dismissal. Already cars driven by Mom and Dad were lining up to pick up the little ones.
I’ve heard of schools having 500 cars waiting to pick up kids at dismissal. These parents create a traffic nightmare. Their cars block fire lanes and the congestion forces many drivers to take alternate routes.
Some parents say buses are inefficient. Kids wake up early to catch the bus and a 15-minute ride takes 45 minutes because of circuitous bus routes. Other parents worry kids aren’t safe on buses. For proof they point to this week’s bus accident in Cherokee County that sent 27 students to the hospital.
But studies from the National Safety Council say kids are 87 times safer in a school bus than a passenger car. And some principals tout buses as better for the environment. They say school buses consume less gas and produce cleaner air as opposed to the pollution produced by idle cars.
With gas over $3-a-gallon, isn’t the school bus a better deal? Why do Moms and Dads want to chauffeur their kids to school?
