lol - APS bus stop is comically bad

[Anonymous]

Not a hub stop. It’s our neighborhood school. Honestly, it’s so strange I think it’s probably a mistake.

[Anonymous]

APS transportation assigned us to an obviously wrong hub stop two years ago. It was across Arlington from our house. We called the day bus assignments came out, but APS transportation said they couldn't fix it until mid-Sept because they had to let things "settle out first". There was absolutely no way we could make the stop work with our schedules (we had to get another kid to a different school too). We eventually called the school principal and she got it fixed. There was a hub stop two blocks from our house that was the obvious answer.

It was lots of drama and back and forth for nervous kindergarten parents. We weren't entirely sure our kindergartener was going to be put on the right bus that first day. APS transportation told us that they wouldn't respect any changes and would just put our kindergartener on the wrong bus (which we considered a cruel threat for a little one on their first day) but fortunately the principal had our back and expressly put her on the correct bus.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:They moved our stop an additional mile away, and our kid now gets to cross a six lane road to get there! It’s high school so I assume they don’t care (it’s a mile and a half total, which I assume is technically within the distance parameters). So much easier to just drive the poor kid to and from school.

Six lane road? I'm trying to think where there is a six lane road in Arlington?

Is there a light where he could cross?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:APS transportation assigned us to an obviously wrong hub stop two years ago. It was across Arlington from our house. We called the day bus assignments came out, but APS transportation said they couldn't fix it until mid-Sept because they had to let things "settle out first". There was absolutely no way we could make the stop work with our schedules (we had to get another kid to a different school too). We eventually called the school principal and she got it fixed. There was a hub stop two blocks from our house that was the obvious answer.

It was lots of drama and back and forth for nervous kindergarten parents. We weren't entirely sure our kindergartener was going to be put on the right bus that first day. APS transportation told us that they wouldn't respect any changes and would just put our kindergartener on the wrong bus (which we considered a cruel threat for a little one on their first day) but fortunately the principal had our back and expressly put her on the correct bus.

that's insane. you should post this publicly. aps transportation needs an overhaul.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:They've set up the hub bus stops so they're all at major buildings, which means they're also on very busy roads that kids have to cross. If APS moved them to be in the middle of neighborhoods instead, kids would have to cross far fewer major roads to get to their hub stop, and they'd have to wait on less busy streets.

I don't think that's true. A lot of the hub stops are at elementary schools, so getting to them is the same as walking to an elementary school.

[Anonymous]

We sent him to his old stop with the same group of kids from last year and it was fine.

[Anonymous]

Can someone please tell me the 6 lane road? It's not Langston. That's just two each direction, except for a turn lane at some lights. There's just 50, right?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:They've set up the hub bus stops so they're all at major buildings, which means they're also on very busy roads that kids have to cross. If APS moved them to be in the middle of neighborhoods instead, kids would have to cross far fewer major roads to get to their hub stop, and they'd have to wait on less busy streets.

I don't think that's true. A lot of the hub stops are at elementary schools, so getting to them is the same as walking to an elementary school.

The hub stop at Hamm makes a lot of kids cross Langston. At Glebe elementary has lots of kids crossing Glebe. The ASFS stop has kids crossing Quincy or Fairfax/Washington Blvd. The Barrett stop has kids crossing George Mason. It's probably not true in every instance, but I do think the stops could be better thought out.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:They've set up the hub bus stops so they're all at major buildings, which means they're also on very busy roads that kids have to cross. If APS moved them to be in the middle of neighborhoods instead, kids would have to cross far fewer major roads to get to their hub stop, and they'd have to wait on less busy streets.

I don't think that's true. A lot of the hub stops are at elementary schools, so getting to them is the same as walking to an elementary school.

The hub stop at Hamm makes a lot of kids cross Langston. At Glebe elementary has lots of kids crossing Glebe. The ASFS stop has kids crossing Quincy or Fairfax/Washington Blvd. The Barrett stop has kids crossing George Mason. It's probably not true in every instance, but I do think the stops could be better thought out.

My 6th grader crossed Landon every day for their neighborhood school. Except for the very youngest crossing Langston at a light is appropriate.

OP is talking about high schooler. When I was in high school I was walking alone in Boston.

Unless she is crossing 50 without an overpass (which I can’t see how is possible from high school boundaries), these are all reasonable crossings.

Now it sounds like they went to an old stop, so maybe it was just a mistake, but who knows

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:They've set up the hub bus stops so they're all at major buildings, which means they're also on very busy roads that kids have to cross. If APS moved them to be in the middle of neighborhoods instead, kids would have to cross far fewer major roads to get to their hub stop, and they'd have to wait on less busy streets.

I don't think that's true. A lot of the hub stops are at elementary schools, so getting to them is the same as walking to an elementary school.

The hub stop at Hamm makes a lot of kids cross Langston. At Glebe elementary has lots of kids crossing Glebe. The ASFS stop has kids crossing Quincy or Fairfax/Washington Blvd. The Barrett stop has kids crossing George Mason. It's probably not true in every instance, but I do think the stops could be better thought out.

My 6th grader crossed Landon every day for their neighborhood school. Except for the very youngest crossing Langston at a light is appropriate.

OP is talking about high schooler. When I was in high school I was walking alone in Boston.

Unless she is crossing 50 without an overpass (which I can’t see how is possible from high school boundaries), these are all reasonable crossings.

Now it sounds like they went to an old stop, so maybe it was just a mistake, but who knows

Crossed *Langston.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:They've set up the hub bus stops so they're all at major buildings, which means they're also on very busy roads that kids have to cross. If APS moved them to be in the middle of neighborhoods instead, kids would have to cross far fewer major roads to get to their hub stop, and they'd have to wait on less busy streets.

I don't think that's true. A lot of the hub stops are at elementary schools, so getting to them is the same as walking to an elementary school.

The hub stop at Hamm makes a lot of kids cross Langston. At Glebe elementary has lots of kids crossing Glebe. The ASFS stop has kids crossing Quincy or Fairfax/Washington Blvd. The Barrett stop has kids crossing George Mason. It's probably not true in every instance, but I do think the stops could be better thought out.

My 6th grader crossed Langston every day for their neighborhood school. Except for the very youngest crossing Langston at a light is appropriate.

OP is talking about high schooler. When I was in high school I was walking alone in Boston.

Unless she is crossing 50 without an overpass (which I can’t see how is possible from high school boundaries), these are all reasonable crossings.

Now it sounds like they went to an old stop, so maybe it was just a mistake, but who knows

+1

[Anonymous]

Is there a closer Metro/ART bus route? Can’t the kids take public transportation for free?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:They've set up the hub bus stops so they're all at major buildings, which means they're also on very busy roads that kids have to cross. If APS moved them to be in the middle of neighborhoods instead, kids would have to cross far fewer major roads to get to their hub stop, and they'd have to wait on less busy streets.

Ours in the middle of our neighborhood (at Drew)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I understand, but also consider that I think APS is far over budget, and high school kids are in reality less needful of bus transport than elementary and middle schoolers. High schoolers can take a public bus too (it's free I think, you can get a pass from the county?). I took public transport to my private high school my whole life tbh, in another state.

Not saying this is great, just that if APS is cutting somewhere maybe this isn't the worst place, and busses are expensive.

Oh I get it, I just think they should have sent a letter telling us we don’t get a bus this year because they lack sufficient resources to provide transportation for our neighborhood. Instead they pretend to have given us transportation. It’s annoying. Also, a little heads up that they were taking away our transportation would have been great for planning purposes.

They can’t do that because state requires they provide transport and thus you would have grounds to sue.

Eh, plenty of us “walkers” haven’t ever had a bus, so no sympathy there. It’s not like my kindergartner was going to walk a mile to school alone. But we weren’t given transportation.

[Anonymous]

To confirm, it was a mistake and transportation was very helpful fixing things.