Are you claustrophobic? If so, be sure to not take the school bus.
I’ve ridden the school bus all my life, and it’s one of the worst parts of my day. Most common buses consist of two and three seaters, fitting about 35 students in total. Students get picked up from and dropped off at a local school, ensuring that they have a more efficient way of getting to school. However, it’s such a heinous process to adhere to.
I live 8.5 miles away from Hamilton, and my bus pick-up time is 7:05AM. This means that I have to wake up earlier than most of the students that go to our school; 5:30 if I want to prepare myself both breakfast and lunch, and 6:00 if I don’t. School starts at 8:30, so this means waking 3 hours before then. Waking up early after a long night of doing homework is so hard in the mornings, but I understand that this isn’t the bus’ fault.
Once I do get to the bus stop on time (which is rare), I’m met with at least 20 other people standing in the freezing weather. We all wait for the bus, which almost never comes at exactly 7:05. It usually comes either too early or too late. When we see the bus approaching from the fog in the distance, suddenly everyone rushes up to where they predict it’ll park. It’s rare to be that one lucky person who manages to stand right in front of the bus door, actually. You wait for the doors to open, and thrust yourself upon the stairs using the railing.
It’s also a hassle to get a seat that doesn’t already have another person sitting there, so that’s why everyone rushes in. Keep in mind, this is only if your bus stop is the first one. If not, and you’re on the second stop, it’s 10x more of a hassle. They try to get on, but the seats fill up in less than a minute. Even though there’s both two and three seaters, no one likes to fit three people into the three seaters. So, it’s more like the bus has two two-seaters, but only one of them is spacious. Some sacrifice themselves to get off and take the metro, while some others awkwardly ask two people to scoot over to fit into the three seater with them. I feel bad for them because I know how embarrassing it is when those two people in the three seaters act like the bus was made for them, and as if they were physically unable to scoot over. Some even make an excuse that they’re “saving the seat for a friend,” and coincidentally, said friend never comes.
The bus ride from there on to school is about 30 minutes. As I try to make up for the early time that I woke up by taking a power nap, there’s either someone calling their friend or someone listening to loud, upbeat music with no headphones—and sometimes, it’s both. But, after all these years taking the bus under these circumstances, I’m used to it and can sleep with the noise.
Fast forward to 3:38PM, at the end of 7th period. The buses park next to the IH buildings, and for both sophomore and junior year, my 7th period was and is in the tech building. As you know, the IH and tech building are on two completely different sides of Hamilton’s campus, so I’m always one of the last people to get on the bus at the end of the day. This means that the bus is consistently filled, and fitting into a three seater is undesirable when you’re also carrying an instrument, which I usually am doing. So, my bus driver redirects me to another one who drives to my same stop.
All of these factors combined make me feel exhausted just thinking about riding the bus. It’s both tiring and annoying having to deal with all of the bus’ activities. There needs to be a way to supply multiple buses that go to the same stop to ensure that students are not crammed into their seats. While I’m glad that I have an easier way to get to school, sometimes I think, “I’ll take the metro instead.”
