APS--what is the average time for a bus ride to school?

[Anonymous]

Hello,

We've been in APS for all of elementary but have bus riders for middle and high school this year.

Is a 40-50 min bus ride typical? We received an estimated pick-up time and I was very surprised at how long it takes. But is that pretty standard?
We've always walked, but kiddo is going to non-neighborhood middle, and we're new to HS.

[Anonymous]

Where are you located in Arlington and which schools?

[Anonymous]

You choose an option middle school, and there is less money for buses. So yes you will have a long ride. That bus will cover a huge geographic area.

[Anonymous]

HB or Gunston?

[Anonymous]

OP here: Heading to HB and W-L from just south of Columbia Pike.

[Anonymous]

Option bus rides are long, that's part of the deal when you choose an option school. The high school bus ride probably isn't that long, your kid might just get to school early.

[Anonymous]

My kid goes to an option school. She has no stops between pick-up and drop off so the ride is 5-6 minutes.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP here: Heading to HB and W-L from just south of Columbia Pike.

So you are benefitting from HB and IB, you have to accept these lumps. You are getting a private education for cost of the time of a bus ride, and guess what -- the ride to a private school would be expensive too.

[Anonymous]

Ours looks like it will be 20-25 mins to HB. It would take me almost as long to drive. I appreciate that the bus is an option.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Hello,

We've been in APS for all of elementary but have bus riders for middle and high school this year.

Is a 40-50 min bus ride typical? We received an estimated pick-up time and I was very surprised at how long it takes. But is that pretty standard?
We've always walked, but kiddo is going to non-neighborhood middle, and we're new to HS.

My guess is the bus is arriving early so it can run other routes.

My elementary option school bus rider gets picked up at 8:30 AM for a 9 AM start but is only on the bus for less than 10 minutes, so she's at school by 8:40 and waits around for 20 minutes.

[Anonymous]

My kid attends Gunston, & we live in N Arlington. He gets on the bus at the last stop before the bus heads to the school, & it’s 45-50 min before school starts. Many kids board the bus over an hour before the start time. But they arrive at school 30+ minutes before the start time, because the busses are needed to run other routes.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My kid attends Gunston, & we live in N Arlington. He gets on the bus at the last stop before the bus heads to the school, & it’s 45-50 min before school starts. Many kids board the bus over an hour before the start time. But they arrive at school 30+ minutes before the start time, because the busses are needed to run other routes.

Exactly. Driver shortage.

[Anonymous]

HB and the ride is about 25 minutes. It's fine.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Hello,

We've been in APS for all of elementary but have bus riders for middle and high school this year.

Is a 40-50 min bus ride typical? We received an estimated pick-up time and I was very surprised at how long it takes. But is that pretty standard?
We've always walked, but kiddo is going to non-neighborhood middle, and we're new to HS.

How did you receive an estimated pickup time? Do you mean you checked ParentVue or did you get something about it? We did not get anything.

[Anonymous]

NP. Some kids have bus schedules in parent vue and some kids don’t yet.