The bells ring at 2:45 p.m. Kids clamor to get to their target destination – the bus loop.
Kids who regularly ride the bus to and from school know that LSHS has two rounds of buses to take students home. Round one leaves first at 2:50 and round two is supposed to leave a little later after the final bell. There is no official time for round two to leave; they wait for all their kids to load up before driving away.
Although round one buses leave early, it’s nice to be able to get home earlier and leave right after the bell. This timing also benefits the kids who usually work right after school.
But what do other kids think? Is it more convenient to rush to the bus and leave right away or have the luxury of taking your time making your way to the bus?
Junior Alex Valm rides round one buses and would prefer to have a little more time after the bell to make it to the bus. Sometimes the rush to catch the bus leads to confusion.
“I hadn’t taken the bus for a while, and it moved places, so it left when I was looking for the bus,” Valm said.
But opinions obviously vary, like junior Ashton Villarreal who prefers being in round one despite having to speed walk to the bus.
“I have a big bag, and I have to like carry myself like Sisyphus, and I have to run to the bus. I’d rather be round one and be home faster even with the inconvenience because I don’t want to wait another 20 minutes, especially when I have things to do,“ Villarreal said.
Approximately 450 students ride the bus, 300 ride the first round and 150 ride second. The significant number of kids riding on round one is apparent, but not all kids registered to ride the bus actually use it to get home. This number also includes the special needs buses.
According to James Monroe, who is a dispatcher in the Transportation Department, the reason why the busses in round one leave so early is due to the fact that those kids live the farthest away from the school, so they need to leave earlier in order to make it home at an appropriate time, whereas round two are kids who live nearest to the school.
Bus drivers also need to get to other destinations. Each driver has three schools they need to arrive at on time in order to meet the needs of all of their riders. Unfortunately, students like Valm are destined to ride round one. Each bus has a set route, and if that bus drives by or near the registered kid then they are assigned to that one.
Arriving home right after school is convenient because students are able to make it to whatever plans they have after school in a timely manner. But for the kids who struggle with getting to the bus on time, planning ahead and packing up a couple minutes before the bell might be the way to go.
