DC students to get free bus service this fall

[Anonymous]

Really!!! Riding around the city on the metro will be the new fad for students. What is this the 1950's in Hooterville?

The most traveled bus lines for local high-school will be horrendous for regular riders. Headline: Black students vs. White bus passenger.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:“Chronic truancy is a widespread problem in the District. At four high schools last year, more than 40 percent of students missed a month or more of class

We know that a lot of children aren’t making it to school because they have to pay,” Bowser said. “Even though we don’t have a school bus system, I think that you should be able to get to school for free.”

Wouldn't it be funny if there was even more truancy because the kids are now off riding around town during school hours? This didn't seem very well thought out.

Yeah, the reason chronic truancy exists is because of transportation. Kids rally WANT to go to school, they just can't.

Bowser is running for mayor, and pandering. It's what she does best. She's so shallow she's nearly transparent.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:$1 million for the Shaed field? Aren't they closing Shaed & putting it up for bid?

Wrong threAd?

It's from the same article. If you read all the way to the bottom...

It just seems like an odd and very specific choice compared to the other items they're funding, which benefit a wider swath of the population.

[Anonymous]

On non related news high school hoodlums brutally best family guy in bus and laugh. Also in unrelated news dcps test scores still suck. Next tax windfall goes to section 8 welfare thugs, dc city of the future detroit lol , good thing tysons is coming.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:“Chronic truancy is a widespread problem in the District. At four high schools last year, more than 40 percent of students missed a month or more of class

We know that a lot of children aren’t making it to school because they have to pay,” Bowser said. “Even though we don’t have a school bus system, I think that you should be able to get to school for free.”

Wouldn't it be funny if there was even more truancy because the kids are now off riding around town during school hours? This didn't seem very well thought out.

How many kids riding the bus would be OOB? And what's the point of sending a kid OOB if you can't afford to get them there and the kid is flunking everything because they are missing a huge number of classes? How is that any better solution?

[Anonymous]

Two other problems with DCPS busing...

a.) DCPS has a huge fleet of mini buses that take special needs kids to specialized schools outside of the city - and from what I've seen, it's hundreds of buses, one bus per kid, which is very wasteful, even a cheap piece of software like Microsoft Streets can analyze pickups between point A and point B and potentially be used to optimize routes so that it's not just one bus per kid.

b.) DCPS has huge yards full of big yellow school buses that from what I've seen don't take kids anywhere, and instead just sit there not being used.

Where's the alternatives and cost benefit analysis? If it's cheaper to put them on metro buses, then why keep the big yellow school buses around? Sell them, before they turn into a maintenance nightmare from sitting so long. Or, vice versa - if the yellow school buses are cost effective, then put them to work already.

[Anonymous]

We will be subsidizing class-cutting.

[Anonymous]

WMATA could have metro passes that only work for the designated stops at the designated times and deploy cops at the typical "ditch" locations during the morning and afternoon rush.

[Anonymous]

I don't see the problem or why the big fuss. Students in many cities get free or nearly free bus and underground passes to get to school.

[Anonymous]

What happened to yellow buses for school in the city. Why was there ever a need for a fleet of yellow buses?

[Anonymous]

We are on a very tight budget, and I'm very happy that my son will get a free ride to school and back every day rather than having to buy bus tokens. I like that he takes public transportation rather than a school bus to his charter school. He can be much more flexible with getting to school early or staying late if need be.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:What happened to yellow buses for school in the city. Why was there ever a need for a fleet of yellow buses?

It was probably a fat juicy contract to pad someone's pocket.

[Anonymous]

if kids cannot afford $30 a month for the metro/bus card, they should get a free pass (like some get a free lunch). to the poster who wondered ahy people send their kids OB if they cannot afford transportation, look at Wilson's boundaries, and you will see that it is easy to be IB and having to take public transportation to go to school.
if kids can afford it, they should pay, extra money should be used to help students who are far behind. just recently we got the news that only students that are mildly behind are invited to summer class, regardless of their family's income, while students who are 2grades behind were not because they would need more help and DCPS cannot afford it. those students should be helped before it is too late

[Anonymous]

What if your kids take metro instead of the bus? You still would have to pay $30 a month. I don't know why it's only for the bus.
I think if kids cannot afford the $30 pass, then they should qualify for a free/ reduced transportation pass- less than $30- to use on both metro and bus.

[Anonymous]

Doesn't this free bus ride issue exist in other metropolitan cities, such as Boston, NY, Chicago and Los Angeles.

To the dumb-azz poster saying if a parent can't afford transportation for their child to a public school is somewhat not worthy. Just validates the us versus them dialogue.