Bus ride too long in East Cobb schools. (transporting, neighborhood) - Atlanta - Georgia (GA) - City-Data Forum

Tori1973 · 03-21-2010, 08:19 PM

I find it horrible that my 1st grader will have to sit on a bus for 40 minutes to get to school in East Cobb? I live on Long Island and her bus ride is less then 15 minutes. I feel so bad for her she is going to be miserable. Does anyone know why the bus would pick my kid up at 7:02 am in East Cobb if school does not start until 7:50 am? I wish I did not have to move, but my hubby is being relocated. I am not doing this by choice.

Do parents drive their elementary kids to school and if they do is the traffic bad just going 3 miles from your house. The posts I read about East Cobb traffic is scary. Is it really that bad??

aries4118 · 03-21-2010, 08:44 PM

The bus ride is not 40 minutes long.

Many schools run "two loads." So, if your child is being picked up at 7:02am, it means that your neighborhood is probably a "first load" bus and will arrive at school early (I estimate 7:20-7:30am). However, your child will be on the first load to leave in the afternoon. After dropping your neighborhood's kids off at school, the bus probably has to go pick up another load of kids in another neighborhood and will drop them off at around 7:45/7:50am.

Also, many routes have been combined and many bus-stops eliminated in the past year due to budget cuts.

My niece also attends an East Cobb elementary school, and she is scheduled to be picked up at her bus-stop at approximately 7:04am! My sister-in-law instead drives her to another nearby bus-stop (a little too far for a kindergartener to walk to) on another bus route that comes much later. It is convenient due to the later time and the fact that my sister-in-law does not have to drive all the way to the school (saving on gas and not having to enter school traffic).

Saintmarks · 03-21-2010, 08:47 PM

The bus ride won't be that long. I drove a bus in this part of Cobb some years ago. What is probably the case is that an early pick up means your driver has a double Elementary route, picks up the longer route furthest away from the school first, has them delivered by 7:30 (when the doors open) then goes on a second route, probably a little shorter and closer to the school to have them delivered by 7:50.

It has been some years (early 90s) since I drove a bus but there were no elementary bus rides in the whole of east Cobb that lasted 45 minutes. Perhaps they have changed, but the elementary riders are the biggest block of students to move. Elementary schools have six grades (K-5) so double the grades of middle schools.... even though middle schools are larger. High Schools do have 4 grades, but by junior year, most kids have a car.

You can drive your child yourself of course, but bus transportation is MUCH safer for your child than you transporting them in your own vehicle, not to mention the reduction in local traffic of every mom having to drive their child to the school.

aries4118 · 03-21-2010, 08:49 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Saintmarks

The bus ride won't be that long. I drove a bus in this part of Cobb some years ago. What is probably the case is that an early pick up means your driver has a double Elementary route, picks up the longer route furthest away from the school first, has them delivered by 7:30 (when the doors open) then goes on a second route, probably a little shorter and closer to the school to have them delivered by 7:50.

It has been some years (early 90s) since I drove a bus but there were no elementary bus rides in the whole of east Cobb that lasted 45 minutes. Perhaps they have changed, but the elementary riders are the biggest block of students to move. Elementary schools have six grades (K-5) so double the grades of middle schools.... even though middle schools are larger. High Schools do have 4 grades, but by junior year, most kids have a car.

You can drive your child yourself of course, but bus transportation is MUCH safer for your child than you transporting them in your own vehicle, not to mention the reduction in local traffic of every mom having to drive their child to the school.

Copycat!

Saintmarks · 03-21-2010, 08:49 PM

LOL Aries, there we are thinking alike again...

Saintmarks · 03-21-2010, 08:50 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by aries4118

Copycat!

But I am the bus driving expert for Cobb County on this site

aries4118 · 03-21-2010, 08:59 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Saintmarks

But I am the bus driving expert for Cobb County on this site

True dat...but, I was nerdy little kid that knew about all of the different bus routes at my East Cobb elementary school!

kaday · 03-22-2010, 06:08 AM

Frankly, I am just happy we have bus service! In other states where we lived we had to pay for it. $90/year per student.

aries4118 · 03-22-2010, 07:09 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by kaday

Frankly, I am just happy we have bus service! In other states where we lived we had to pay for it. $90/year per student.

True dat as well...I couldn't believe it when I found out that citizens had to pay for school bus service in Massachusetts.

jln69 · 03-22-2010, 07:11 AM

I second that it won't be that long either. Well not in E Cobb but N Fulton the schedules seem to be pretty much the same. Our bus comes at 7:00 and the late bell rings at 7:50. I can tell you that the bus gets to school by 7:30 at the latest.