School buses are one of the primary ways that students have of getting to and from school. While there are many reasons that parents benefit from putting the kids on the school bus, such as saving gas, money and time, there are also disadvantages to relying on the school bus.
Time
School buses generally take more time to get students to and from school than it would take their parents to drive them. This is because the school bus has to run its entire route rather than just driving from point A to point B. School buses also require many students to walk some distance to the school bus stop before they can be picked up by the bus.
Missing the Bus
School buses have a specific schedule they need to adhere to. Because of this, school buses do not wait for students 1. If a student is not at the bus stop at the correct time, the bus will leave without him.
After-School Activities
In general, school buses make two trips. The bus makes one run to school in the morning, dropping students off immediately before the school day begins, and one run in the afternoon immediately after classes are over. Because of this, students who need to be at school early or stay after school for academic or extracurricular activities cannot take the bus. School districts generally do not provide busing services for students involved in extracurricular activities, meaning that students who have parents that are not able to pick them up cannot participate in activities.
Student Supervision
There have been repeated incidents of students being bullied, fighting or being injured on school buses. Part of this is because the bus driver is in charge of driving the bus and supervising the students, meaning the driver has to pay attention to the road and at the same time try to supervise what is going on in the back of the bus. Periodically, students may be picked on, bullied or otherwise mistreated on the bus by their peers.