Wot No School Run?

Unlike the UK, my commute takes about the same time whether schools are in session or on vacation. This is probably partly due to staggered starting times (high school starts at about 7:00am), but mostly down to school busses. These are a great idea since each bus probably eliminates between 10 & 50 vehicles that could potentially be on the road.

Beth gets picked up & dropped off at the end of our road when she uses the bus. The school car park is filled with busses when school finishes, but it seems reasonably well organized as each teacher is responsible for making sure that their students are all on the correct busses.

Another cool aspect of the busses is the swing out sign & barrier that each one has. Along with the warning lights, these indicate to surrounding traffic that the bus is picking up or dropping off students. Bus stops are located so that students only have to cross over a maximum of one lane of traffic & there are very strict traffic rules which prevent vehicles from passing the bus. This creates quite a safe environment for students to cross over the road if necessary.