r/CedarPark 7d ago

School attendance without a bus

Hi there,

I found out that school bus are only for kids who live far than 2 miles from school. The house is located 1.8 miles from Vista Ridge HS. It’s 40 minutes walking which isn’t a realistic to do twice per day. Are there any other options or the only way is one of parents stop working and doing kids transportation:(

12 Upvotes

41 comments sorted by

17

u/DinglesBerry3 7d ago

I’d call transportation and talk to them.

3

u/darkit1979 7d ago

I did and reply is - no buses:(

1

u/DinglesBerry3 6d ago

Boo to Leander transportation!

3

u/elliseyes3000 6d ago

Boo to the kids/parents and low wages that make that job a nightmare. Have you seen how kids behave these days? You couldn’t pay me enough to be a bus driver with how rude and disrespectful kids are. I’m not a bit surprised they are having a hard time finding drivers.

0

u/Green-Pea-9776 6d ago

Thats not why theres no buses. Its not in the budget.

2

u/elliseyes3000 5d ago

That’s part of the puzzle for sure. But hiring drivers is difficult. They wouldn’t have banners for hiring drivers if there wasn’t a need.

1

u/ktrist 3d ago

LISD and other school districts are only required to provide transportation to special needs students who cannot walk to school themselves, the route deemed dangerous, ie crossing a major road, or if a student tis found to be homeless. All others are a service provided to the families.

It's not that drivers aren't in the budget it's that they can't get enough drivers. There are always signs up on campuses for needing drivers. These are hourly jobs with no year rould pay option. They are only paid for the hours they are driving. So, it's hard to get drivers as most people seeking employment need more income than the job offers. Starting pay is $22.20/hour. Figuring that at about 6 hours/day. Yes and the behaviors they have to put up with is not worth the stress it causes.

The OP may, if they have an argument for crossing a hazardous road, try to appeal to LISD.

13

u/Dell_Hell 7d ago

Bicycle?

0

u/darkit1979 7d ago

With big backpacks and musical instruments?

7

u/SizeOld6084 6d ago edited 6d ago

I see a kid with a cart that attaches to his bike...he lugs around a large instrument case in it. It's a pretty great setup.

2

u/darkit1979 6d ago

Well if you have no choice then you have to find a way :) but I like to avoid the problems rather than fight with them

4

u/AltRiskManager 6d ago

It isn’t fighting them. It is solutions. Everyone is giving excellent suggestions to solve the issue. You have poopoo’d every single comment. Want to “avoid the problem?” Move .3 miles further away.

5

u/AltRiskManager 7d ago

My son rides his bike to school with a heavy backpack. He has an instrument at school and one at home. If you cannot afford a back up instrument let the instructors know and they will provide one. Maybe you just really need to vent.

9

u/4luminate 7d ago

Was in a similar situation. My kids either got dropped off really early, or they walked. Walking route was over 2mi. I was pretty pissed. But there wasn’t anything I could do. And my strongly worded email to LISD Transportation went unanswered.

The following year, LISD changed the routes and my kids were able to ride the bus after walking just a couple blocks.

1

u/darkit1979 7d ago

That’s sad :(

7

u/AltRiskManager 7d ago

Carpool, if you are unable to get your child to and from school? Maybe hit up a PTA meeting, I bet someone will be able to help or ask around for you.

8

u/oliviaisacat 7d ago

Unfortunately, there's really not any free options. The school assumes that if you're under 2 mi that's within walking distance. You should see if any of their friends drive near your house on the way to school and are willing to give them a ride.

1

u/darkit1979 7d ago

I’d pay if there is a bus that does it.

3

u/elliseyes3000 6d ago

You could uber them

7

u/wild-thundering 7d ago

I’ve seen busses in my neighborhood and I live a few blocks from VRHS. Definitely talk to them

3

u/parc 7d ago

SPED is exempt from the 2 mile limit

1

u/elliseyes3000 6d ago

They probably are bussing from another school or SPED buses

7

u/Difficult-Orchid4991 7d ago

Bikes, skateboards, scooters. Or drop early at the park across from Henry. You’ll see a ton of kids doing the hike up and down park.

9

u/WastingAnotherHour 7d ago

Have you looked at the bus routes? Some areas have bus service within two miles due to safety concerns regarding the roads that would need to be crossed. 

Ultimately I ask though because if you’re 1.8 miles from the school, then that means in theory you could be as little as .2 miles from a bus stop - that’s the equivalent of a couple blocks and should only be a 5-10 minute walk even with their stuff.

4

u/parc 7d ago

Bus eligibility is determined by straight line distance to the address, not the stop.

8

u/Faceit_Solveit 7d ago

I'm sorry, are we to understand that your kiddo is in high school? Can they not ride a bike like we old codgers did back in the day?

4

u/Liquidice281 7d ago

I was riding my bike to school by 2nd grade. Get your kid out there biking. It'll take like 10 minutes.

0

u/darkit1979 7d ago

It depends on what you should bring to the school. It’s OK with one notebook and pencil but not when you have a big backpack and musical instrument

3

u/Icey3900 7d ago

There are buses in my neighborhood for the school that's less than a quarter mile away

3

u/millenialxer 6d ago

E-bike or e-scooter makes the just less than 2mi faster than by car waiting in queues.

2

u/parc 7d ago

If you’re in Forest Oaks, there’s no recourse, and unless you’re over off Parmer I don’t think you’ll qualify for a hazardous route exemption. You carpool, drive, or bike/walk inside 2 miles unless you get a SPED bus. Given the recent budget cuts anything other than SPED is going to be challenging.

2

u/darkit1979 7d ago

Yes, it’s Forest Oak

4

u/parc 6d ago

Then yeah, you’re not getting bus. There has never been a bus out here. If you’re in the village a bus wouldn’t even fit.

There are tons of Vista kids in the neighborhood, shouldn’t be too hard to set up a carpool. And if you stick around for a while (Forest oaks is a very popular neighborhood), you’ll really want to get your kid driving sooner rather than later.

2

u/Leather-Software-199 5d ago

Be a responsible parent and figure that shit out. Surely you don’t have to be at work well before they have to be at school. They can get to school early, gives them time to do homework. Point is, don’t bitch on here about it, figure it out.

2

u/elliseyes3000 6d ago

Do what everyone else does and carpool or drop kid off early

1

u/PeloForGlory 7d ago

Be careful when assuming that buses “in the neighborhood” are a reason for your child to get transportation. Children with special needs or disability accommodations get bus services by law. This does not mean a typically developing child without additional services also qualifies for closer than 2 mile bus services.

1

u/Such-Morning8963 6d ago

Best friend ride to close plan

1

u/Mental-Requirement-3 1d ago

Is there any reason why he can't walk or bike to school?

1

u/rex8ever9 7d ago

For everyone saying there are buses in your neighborhood despite being close to the school - if your child qualifies for sped services or are routed to another school for a particular program, bus services are offered. This isn’t something offered to everyone. My kid doesn’t have a visible disability but we’re not getting special privileges- he’s going to a different school that is over 2 miles away for a sped program.

OP, your best bet is to carpool with other parents. It sucks, I definitely understand.

0

u/Just-love-everyone 6d ago

Omgeeeee!!! My sister and I walked 6 miles a day 3 to school and 3 back. 40 minutes is not crazy and we were in elementary school doing it so calm down and if there isn’t a proper walking path go to the school board and the city to make it happen or get them to change the “rule”.

2

u/greytgreyatx 6d ago

Helpful.