The bus as a public transport vehicle

Taken from wikipedia

by Susan Palmes-Dennis 

Last Monday, August 29, was the first day for school year 2016-17 at the Charlotte Mecklenburg Schools and the school opening reminded me of the 1994 movie “Forrest Gump.” 

Of course I love Tom Hanks and last week's school opening reminded me of that scene in the movie which showed him seated at the bus stop waiting for his son to arrive in the yellow school bus.

The yellow school bus also reminded me of the traffic congestion in my country of birth, the Philippines. The traffic problem that remains unsolved and if it had not been solved by the present administration then the person who can solve it is not yet born.  

In the school where I work there are two ways in which a student can go to school and go back home—either riding in one's car or as a bus passenger. 

A student rides on a bus to and from school and during field trips and school events.  I noticed there are only a few who ride cars since most ride on the bus. 

Imagine a school with more than 2,000 enrollees and less than a hundred ride on cars. The bus passengers are grouped based on where they live and there are bus stops specifically situated in their areas. 

I learned that there are 25 students in each bus. A school conductor or a nurse assigned to students with learning difficulties are also in the bus which is equipped with emergency kits and radios. 

The drivers and other personnel inside the bus deal first with the bus passengers and since they are employed by the school system, they are expected to help deal positively with the students.

Seven years ago I saw a lot of yellow buses like the bus showed in the movie Forrest Gump and learned that it is used by a lot of schools. Federal and state regulations prohibit other buses from using the same color and design used on school buses. 

And I was thinking that school buses may help mitigate the traffic congestion all over the major cities in the Philippines. 

Right now in Cagayan de Oro for example, private cars, motorcycles, motorelas and at times trucks are parked in front of schools to fetch students and teachers to and from the schools. 

The result is chaos in the roads and streets with all sorts of vehicles stuck in traffic along with passenger jeepneys. Both the Departments of Education and Public Works and Highways should acquire buses.

Students will be safer, more manageable and can interact more with their classmates instead of being isolated which can help build character and camaraderie.

Not all students can ride especially those that live nearby or prefer to ride their own cars. Those living nearby can walk to and from the school.  It is a choice but riding buses should be encouraged.

I did some research and I learned that in the US and Canada, riding buses had started since the early 19th century. Once buses are used as a major source of public transportation, fewer cars may be in the roads and traffic would be easier.

Parents can work without fear that their children are waiting for them in school and they would be spared transportation costs since it is paid by the government. Or the transport costs can be incorporated as part of tuition paid to the school.

Here at the Charlotte Mecklenburg Schools where I teach, the teachers would meet the students at the bus stop in the school premises on Monday morning and Friday afternoon. 

The other days of the week the students can walk and go to the classrooms except for the special needs kids where they would be helped at all times. 

Back in the Philippines, local governments can fund a public school bus program that can be a source of revenue or funded by their congressman/congresswoman in their district. 

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Allow me to extend my heartfelt condolences to the family of the late Karen Garrido Cuenca who died last week of breast cancer. Karen was the classmate of my younger sister Aida at Xavier University.

Years ago in the course of my work if there are issues that concern education, teachers and the like, Karen would gladly help me discuss it with simplicity and clarity. I read somewhere that in her last moments she was still smiling. 

Her death which came a month before Breast Cancer Awareness Month in October should remind women to be always on guard about one's health since early detection can save lives. 

(Susan Palmes-Dennis is a veteran journalist from Cagayan de Oro City, Misamis Oriental, Northern Mindanao in the Philippines who worked as a nanny and is now employed as a sub-teacher and a part-time teacher assistant in one of the school systems in the Carolinas.
Read her blogs on susanpalmesstraightfrom the Carolinas.com and at http://www.blogher.com/myprofile/spdennis54. These and other articles also appear at http://www.sunstar.com.ph/author/2582/susan-palmes-dennis.
You can also connect with her through her email susanap.dennis@yahoo.com as well as her Pinterest account at http://www.pinterest.com/pin/41025046580074350/) and https://www.facebook.com/pages/Straight-from-the-Carolinas-/494156950678063)