Beach school system eliminating nearly 500 bus stops

City governments should be continually be looking for ways to cut the fat. I guess they haven't been paying too much attentiont costs in the past. Believe me, the Virginia Beach city government has always been awash in tax money. A new city manager would be a good start. Hire one whose main mantra is to oversee spending from all departments.

"Crack down on parents dropping off kids. Kid gets dropped off too many times, kid gets detention."
So instead of letting my already sleep deprived child get a little more shut-eye, I should roust her out of bed to catch the 6:00 bus that takes her to one of the high school academies so she doesn't get detention for being 'dropped off' by her parents? Not quite the solution here!

How can a school board tell you how to get to school? I thought it was always an option, bus, drive or walk? What if your kid does walk, how would they even know?

"What might really save gas is to ban student parking at schools or better yet, charge $1000 per student per parking space for the year."

It's not gas in general they hope to save. It's the school system's gas. They don't care about people using their own gas to drive their kids to school, or kids driving themselves. Banning student parking would actually cost the school system money. They'd have to buy more buses, hire more drivers, and buy more fuel for the extra buses. Those of you complaining about kids driving to school might have a leg to stand on if you rode HRT to work. Of course HRT isn't a practical option here, now. But I wonder how many of you will leave your precious cars at home to ride the Tide.

Ok now I live .56 miles from my sons school. The school board says we are not allowed to walk to school. Umm sounds like we could save some money here. And the bus drivers need to quit driving the buses to Starbucks, Burger King, the grocery store. The buses should be used for school only not to take and get yourself some coffee. If the kids do not have to cross abusy street then they should be allowed to walk.I walked to school. I hated riding the bus when I had too. And parents your kids do not need to be driven to school. And you do not need to drive them 4 houses down to sit in the car to catch the bus!

by just stopping the busses altogether. No one in Virginia Beach really lets their kids ride the bus. If you don't believe me, just try getting down Great Neck Road, Mill Dam Road, Independence Blvd., Haygood Road, etc., etc., any morning or afternoon. The roads are clogged mini vans and SUVs hauling darling Darla up to school, competing with 16 year olds in souped up mini-cars who are late for class. If the beach REALLY wants to save fuel, #1. Only seniors get to drive to school (hey, it's a privilege not a right,) and #2, Crack down on parents dropping off kids. Kid gets dropped off too many times, kid gets detention.

...that argument is a cop-out regardless of who makes it. You want me to believe that your child is in more danger if he/she is 100 yards further from home? Sorry, not buying it. You want to be able to watch your child from the window. Get up, get dressed, and walk little johnny/julie to the bus stop. It will do you both some good. I promise.

Yes the world is more dangerous than it was when we were kids, but that danger exists whether at the end of your driveway or at the end of the street.

I feel that the amount they are expected to save is not worth the cost of one child's safety. I agree that there should not be a bus stop every 50 feet in a neighborhood but the fact is every year children disappear and had we been more like people of yester year then maybe just maybe some of those kids would be home with their families today. We live in a society that is only concerned with ourselves and what someone else has not the well being of those around us. As a concerned parent (in another city) please think about the safety of the kids.

When I was a kid the world was perfect too! Good lord, it's amazing how many people had to walk uphill 10 miles both ways in a blizzard, during the rain, in the dark, blah, blah blah. What might really save gas is to ban student parking at schools or better yet, charge $1000 per student per parking space for the year. Cutting out a few bus stops may help a little bit....getting rid of thousands of cars driven by students every day would save a lot more. Some have a legitimate need to drive but most do it because they don't want to ride the bus, it's cool, or just to drive the car their parents bought them.

increases with 4 day school week -- isn't that the truth...Just look at the summer months and the errant kids home alone with no adults watching what they do, who they do it with or where they go.

I am all for saving where you can. Making bus stops further apart makes sense-provided the children's safety is not compromised. There are so many perverts willing to snatch kids on a moment's notice that you don't want to spread the children out too far or make them walk too far for fear of being the victim of crime (not obesity). As far as a 4 day school/work week, that would be awesome. However, it's difficult to get child care as it is (only open until 6 p.m. in most cases). What efforts would be made to revamp child care availability? Should we have these kids walking farther to bus stops and compromising safety to in turn compromise their safety again by sending them home to empty houses because child care is not available for the working parent? Let's look at everything before decisions are made. P.S. For all you people who block my driveway waiting for the bus with your kids could you please mo

Ask your local police department what they think of a 4 day school week. Day time crime skyrockets.....

I am all for saving where you can. Making bus stops further apart makes sense-provided the children's safety is not compromised. There are so many perverts willing to snatch kids on a moment's notice that you don't want to spread the children out too far or make them walk too far for fear of being the victim of crime (not obesity). As far as a 4 day school/work week, that would be awesome. However, it's difficult to get child care as it is (only open until 6 p.m. in most cases). What efforts would be made to revamp child care availability? Should we have these kids walking farther to bus stops and compromising safety to in turn compromise their safety again by sending them home to empty houses because child care is not available for the working parent? Let's look at everything before decisions are made.

Walking further to bus stops will increase our childrens' physical activity. Even a few extra yards of walking is good for them. No, buses didn't cause our kids to be out of shape. But bus stops at the end of every driveway don't help.

Not only will this save fuel it will decrease the number of backing accidents in the cul de sacs and dead end streets that will be avoided.

Worried about deviants? Change out of your robe and pink bunny slippers and walk your kid to the bus stop. Or you can be one of the really lazy parents that sits with their child in a running vehicle while they wait for the bus. Then sits in the same running vehicle in the afternoon waiting for the bus to return.

Harold Jackson though a tad skeptical seems to be paying attention.

I am surprised so many people believe most kids[even their own] are
lazy,fat and spoiled.

And they wish all their past hardships revisited on theirs and others children.WOW!

But put in front of a Camera I'll bet they tell of all the hardships they have been through to make their children's life better and easier than their own was.(: Every generation since Adam and Eve have heard this Baloney
about walking 10 miles to school during a blizzard or Nuclear attack.and how spoiled the young are. My parents said the same to me as I am reading here.

Four day school/work week when and where it makes sense seems to be a viable solution.

stop waiting on children that aren't at the bus stop. Drive away once and see if the boogers aren't waiting the next time. Also consider the cars sitting there at idle while this goes on..

Yea, I carried my sister on my back to school 3 miles in the snow....uphill. We heard your story and those were different times.

Now we have not just overweight children but, overly aggressive bullies, reckless drivers on the road, and child predators. If this is about gas then I smell a lawsuit waiting to happen. Which will be more expensive? If you force urbanization on VB you have to consider saftey even more. City Council chose fast growth over smart growth.

This has nothing to do with the fact that children are lazy and over weight. There is more to factor in than just a child's laziness. Given the fact that I used to have to walk over 1/2 a mile to get to the nearest bus stop, I was relieved when the bus started stopping closer to my house. Especially when I had to be out at the bus stop before the sun was even up and it was raining. Do you honestly think that people paid attention to the way they drove in the morning? There were no paved sidewalks for me to walk on to get to the bus stop, I had to walk in the street half the time. These closer bus stops also prevent children from staying out in the elements where they can and often do get ill.

Parents are responsible the majority of the time for their children being over weight. It is not the responsibility of the schools to make parents do their job.

I support this action. When I was going to high school a few years ago I had the option of four different bus stops to go to because they were all extremely close. I remember before I moved to Virginia Beach I walked a pretty lengthy way to get to the bus stop (it was like a 15 minute walk) as opposed to Va Beach where I could hop out my house and jog less than 60 seconds to get to it and if I missed the bus there were several others I could go to.

I would say High School bus routes should be cut first though. I think elementary school bus stops should be left alone if at all possible.

When many of us were young the number of deviants was a bit lower then today. When my child starts school my greatest concern will not be about her getting wet or cold, it will be about her risk of being abducted.

In defense of the "lazy" or "overweight" teenagers, they're not the ones causing higher number of stops or wasted fuel. The school system powers-that-be decide the bus routes/stops. I point the finger at the "lazy" and "holier-than-thou" parents that insist buses provide personal service. When I was growing up in Michigan, buses picked up kids that lived more than 1.5 miles from the school. Even then stops were more of central locations to neighborhoods with kids having to walk up to ¼ or more to the stop. The rest walked to school. I lived 6 blocks from school and I really enjoyed walking with my friends to/from school! Safety wasn’t an issue as we had “Safeties” (older school kids) that worked as crossing guards at busier intersections.

How about the Buses PULL INTO THE HOUSING DEVELOPMENT on Indian River Road. As it is/was last year, the buses STOP on that narrow road and the students run to the Bus.

This impedes commuters and MAKES NO SENSE ! Pull the Bus INTO the develpment and load all the students you want in SAFETY w/o blocking traffic.

Many beach bus drivers are already helping save fuel. They run stop lights and roll stop signs.

From 1982-85, I rode my bike from home (23rd & Baltic) to school at Star of the Sea(15th & Pacific). I was 9 years old. Maybe if these kids did the same, we wouldn't have as big of a problem with obesity.

Well the kids will suffer because those running the school system continues to shelter the high paid upper management personnel from any cuts in pay and benefits. It's always the helpless and voiceless that must pay the price of bad decisions.

This is nothing more than a "feel good", knee jerk reaction that is designed to appear the administration is doing something.

Citizens need to take control of their public servants and hold them accountable for their mis-management of taxpayer funding. Given their performance in their jobs god knows what their personal lives must be like.

No child 12 and older should be picked up in front of his house. They should walk at least 1/4 miles to the bus stop. Imagine how much gas we could save if these lazy teenagers would walk further to the bus stop. They don't need to run after the bus after they see it from their living room window.

I applaud Virginia Beach's decision to reduce bus stops. When I was a kid, many moons ago, I went to Catholic grammar and high schools. I lived a few miles away; would walk over a half-mile to the PUBLIC bus stop. Wait in the snow, rain, whatever....get off and walk a few blocks to school.

I started doing this at the age of six, since my parents had no car, but also used public transportation, either buses or railroad. Yeah, we lived in a city.

So, with that background, do I care if they have to walk a few hundred more feet? no! Actually, it will be good for them.

Way to go, Virginia Beach....I'm proud of you guys!

if you drove behind a bus in my vb neighborhood you would be able to tell why the kids are overweight the bus only stops every 50 feet. also when i was in high school and wanted to participate in after school activities ie sports or clubs we had to find our own way home that should also be put into action

Submitted by charlesw18004 on Tue, 08/19/2008 at 7:30 am.
So to help eliminate fuel and accidents even more, why not just eliminate all buses period? That would save on fuel, employees, insurance, and maintenance and that money saved could be pissed away via some other means?

Yeah. Like building more schools closer to where kids live, giving them a better education and ,maybe, stop the "dumbing down" of our country.
A six year old kid has to ride for an hour on a bus and carry a backpack that weighs half as much as he does. How dam ridiculous is that?