My viewpoint is that the school bus is not a door service enterprise. I understand that people do not live on paved roads and are not "conveniently located" near a proper bus stop. But, can't these kids walk home from the bus stop? If not, can't parents/guardians/caretakers pick them up from the bus stop? For example in my scenario... if the child lives directly off of 235, why can't the bus turn on to the nearest side street, drop the child off, then turn around and get back onto 235 to the next side street? The child can then walk to their home from that bus stop or be picked up. Since when has the school bus system offered door service??
My wife knows more about this than I do. When I was a kid, it was typical for a kid to walk about a half mile to 3/4 mile to the stop.
We always would tease the kid who LIVED right at the stop, because they were often LATE.
But I think there are rules about age and how far a kid must walk. Or how far, if accompanied.
What gets me is, on MY road - one of my daughters is typically the ONLY PERSON at the stop - and she STILL has to walk up the SAME STREET to where the county has decided her stop, is.
MANY years ago - my son who was 3 had to be picked up at the daycare - and there was a month long argument about what rules were violated for a daycare worker to leave kids underattended to walk him to the stop - OR - have the bus driver pull into the lot off the road. Again - someone made a dumbass rule.
I do think that if the bus driver had to drive down every one of these freaking roads to drop kids off, it would easily add a half hour to an already long trip. Waiting 70 minutes for your kid to get off the bus from the time school lets out is exasperating.
I AGREE that it is dumb to stop traffic on a major artery every few blocks and clog up traffic all morning. In fact, what they DO pisses me off, the most - when collecting kids from down a side road - in the morning they go to the end and pick them up on the way back - thus snarling traffic of drivers leaving for work, in the morning, who must now wait behind EVERY SINGLE STOP - if it were the OTHER way, they would pass - ONCE. AND - on the way home - typically drop them off on the way towards the END of the side street - doing the same thing as in the morning except in reverse - drivers returning home must NOW wait behind EVERY SINGLE STOP all the way to the end. When if they did it as done in the morning - it would happen ONCE. Doing it the sensible way changes NOTHING about their time driving - they just choose to do it the stupidest way possible.