Yu Ying has a parent-organized shuttle service, I think it has two or three lines now.

Why don't you contact them and ask how they got it started up? If you are in a charter, there's a good chance that other families are in the same situation.

Anonymous wrote:Public transportation and a public school education are not synonomous. What is next? Should a Food bank offer you access to a five-star Chef to ensure you will eat.

Pretty much everywhere other than DC, transportation is part of the public school education. All of the choices DC offers isn't very equitable if they are only available to those who can figure out the logistics.

That said, I think a 6th grader should be able to navigate the metro, especially if it's a straight shot (no changing lines).

Public transportation and a public school education are not synonomous. What is next? Should a Food bank offer you access to a five-star Chef to ensure you will eat.

Anonymous wrote:For what it's worth, I love the idea of a kid-friendly taxi/shuttle-service in DC and we're definitely not rich. For example, if my kid wanted to have several friends sleep over on a Friday night, I'd love to dispatch the kid-shuttle to pick them all up from school and drive them to my house to save all of the parents from having to drive.

Actually that's a brilliant idea! We are not 1% and have one small car. Many school friends are OOB or in charters.

Daily commuting service might not work for all of us. But for scheduled school or sporting events at night and in winter, maybe 5 kids in an SUV with a reputable driver would be doable.

Sorry to take this off topic OP. Transportation is something we all have to deal with.

For what it's worth, I love the idea of a kid-friendly taxi/shuttle-service in DC and we're definitely not rich. For example, if my kid wanted to have several friends sleep over on a Friday night, I'd love to dispatch the kid-shuttle to pick them all up from school and drive them to my house to save all of the parents from having to drive.

I have been called a many of names but a Flake Hater, never!!!!

Anonymous wrote:OMG this can't be a serious problem in this city that is promoting biking. That's your option. What, probably a parent who prides themaelves in having a diverse play group for their snowflake. Real city, real world and REALLY!!

Looks like you're the one not living in the real world. There are plenty of adults and kids who can't physically ride bike even if they want to.

What is it with you 'Flake Haters? Try to judge a little less and help a little more. It will set a better example for your...what's the opposite of a snowflake? Oh right. It's called a child.

OP, definitely ask around your neighborhood or call the schools you're interested in. We are on the red line but have abandoned it for bus. But we are lucky to live near reliable, frequent routes.

An avid and very confident bike commuter myself, I'd like to second hesitations to let teenagers bike themselves to school in this city's urban environment, especially not in regular traffic on streets with no special bike provisions. Entire bike culture countries will tell you not to let any child under the age of 12 ride on the street, simply because their brain cannot handle the constant three-point attention biking requires, notwithstanding a teenager's tendency to bend rules and take risks. If you do consider biking for middle school students, then start very early with that, on sidewalks, and train them to bike - almost eyes closed - on a routine route that is amenable to biking (lanes, traffic lights, four-way stops, and free of complex intersections). Make it as free as possible of decisions and discretion and see to it that as much as possible of their commute is governed by lights and signs (which their brain should be trained to obey without thinking).

A huge number of people rely on Metro for their work commute - I don't get how it would be less reliable for a school commute. Bosses aren't happy when workers come in late any more than students. My personal experience with the bus was way worse than with Metro but I think a lot is route dependent. The main problem with the bus is that it is impacted, unlike metro, by vehicular traffic. And while I wish I felt safe enough to bike in DC, I don't and wouldn't let my child either.

Anonymous wrote:OMG this can't be a serious problem in this city that is promoting biking. That's your option. What, probably a parent who prides themaelves in having a diverse play group for their snowflake. Real city, real world and REALLY!!

It becomes a serious problem in this city that's building schools in distant neighborhoods with poor Metro access and a school schedule that fights with parents' working schedules.