The Late Bus: Claustrophobia at its Finest

Crowding has been a constant problem for students on the "transfer bus," the bus that, in addition to carrying students on its regular route, must also carry students who have to switch to another bus at the middle school. There have even been a few times when there are so many students on the bus that some transfers have to ride other buses, but it isn't a normal occurrence even though the 174 seems overflowing with students.

People sit with total strangers, which creates discomfort for all. Jamesville-DeWitt High School sophomore Ash Masrani said, "It's really annoying because it's an invasion of my privacy when everybody is in my face. Once people had to stand up and so they kicked people off the bus. Spend one day on this bus! It's not fun."

Sarah Lesser, a senior, corroborated Masrani's account. In fact, she recounted two instances when she had to sit on the floor of the bus because the bus was so packed.

So why doesn't the administration do anything about this?

Dr. Alice Kendrick, superintendent of the J-D Central School District, said that if there are too many students on the transfer bus, students are directed to another bus. "We've tried to set up a back-up so if students choose not to use the back-up then I'm not sure what we can do," she said.

A memorandum I was shown by a bus driver stated that students transferring to the middle school may only board bus 174 with "no exceptions" emphasized in bold print and all capital letters. The bus driver explained that bus drivers make the decision of whether or not to send people to other late buses for the transfer to the middle school.

But people still don't seem to understand exactly why there has to be a transfer at the middle school.

"They need to get a bus directly for the transfers so that they don't have to be...well, transfers," Lesser said. The bus the transfer students switch to at the middle school isn't coming up to the high school, so why can't the administration just bring it up?

"Our goal is to get students off campus by 3:15 (p.m.) as efficiently as possible," said Dr. Kendrick. "It is my understanding that this crowding problem only occurs once a week." Therefore, calling another bus to take the transfer students to the middle school would be inefficient.

However, Masrani disagrees with D. Kendrick's understanding. "It's crowded nearly every day and it sucks," she says.

But the late bus routine isn't the only event between 3 p.m. and 3:30 p.m. Buses are taking middle school and elementary school children home, driving sports teams to games, and picking up students from over 20 non-public schools. With all of these other rounds, it is nearly impossible to find a separate bus that would be able to only take transfer students to the middle school.

Clearly there is a misunderstanding. Maybe the administration can eventually find some middle ground between being efficient and allowing students their personal space. But until then, students will just have to continue to cram on 174 and hope for the best.