Holding at a School Bus Stop

I didn’t expect any particular incident on my way to jury duty in Somerville this morning, but something bizarre and potentially very unsafe occurred that left me totally dumfounded about the lengths to which human nature can go:

In Bridgewater, as I turned onto Papen Road, I noticed a stopped school bus ahead with its lights flashing – nothing unusual there.  As I approached the bus, I slowed down and stopped behind it. 

Its lights continued to flash; the bus was at an idling stop; no other children were embarking.  About half a dozen parents stood by, chatting with one another on the sidewalk near the front door of the bus, their children already on board.

The rear and side safety lights of the idling bus continued to flash with no children in sight nearby.  This is getting to be a long time for a school bus to stay put at a stop with no kids getting on, I thought. 

Next, the sound of a car horn beeping behind me interrupted the quiet of the morning, followed by more demanding beeps.

Then that car passed me to the right, next to the sidewalk, much too close to me for comfort and stopped, as my own car stood motionless behind the school bus.

I could barely believe what followed:  The parent of that car threw open the driver-side door, ran past the front of it; opened the passenger-side door for a child to get out; hurriedly pulled out a backpack from the rear seat; and escorted both to the front of the waiting school bus where the child got on.

The parent ran back to her car which shouldn’t have been where it was, e.g. stationed behind the bus and slightly ahead of mine, parallel and to the right – a very dangerous overall situation.

Bus drivers have a really tough job.  They shouldn’t have to deal with parents who don’t get their children to a bus stop on time, yet apparently expect the driver to wait unreasonably. Such behavior not only presents a serious accident hazard, but is against school board rules.  

The bus in question bore the First Student logo.  Although I am willing to provide the bus number, I believe that this is as much the fault of misplaced parental expectations, as it may be that of the driver who, as I mentioned above, should not have to deal with the subsequent potential wrath of someone whose tardy child has been left behind on the sidewalk.

Parents, Students, and Bridgewater-Raritan Busing

On Wednesday, September 3rd, thousands of Bridgewater and Raritan kids will be outside awaiting the arrival of buses that will shepherd them to their schools for the first day of the 2008-2009 school year. For some young ones and their anxious moms, it will also be the first time that they are separated from the nest.

On Commons Way, in a small office next to the Transportation and Maintenance garage, there is a dedicated staff of four people who have spent much of their time since school closed in June, gathering information about your kids and entering it into a sophisticated computer queuing program that matches up all of the information to place your children on the right bus, at the right time. The results are reviewed for accuracy.

For the most part, given the complexity and logistics of matching up individual bus capacity and most efficient routing with specific students, time, pick-up location, and specific school destination, the process should proceed smoothly.

However, be prepared for glitches. They do happen. Most of the time, they are minor. Sometimes, but rarely, they are not. Either way, you can expect that the phone lines into the Bridgewater-Raritan Schools Transportation Department will be jammed for at least a week or two.

If something doesn’t go quite right for your kids and you need to make contact with your school and the transportation department, here’s some advice that is virtually guaranteed to get you a better outcome: More bees are attracted with a little honey; none with vinegar.