alamode

Both my parents work full time jobs. My mom gets home around 6/7 and my dad gets home very late, like 11PM/12AM if he's here, and he's often on business trips.

My mom gives me a ride to school and I usually get a ride home with a friend or stay at the local library until my mom can pick me up.

But I don't turn 16 until this October (my Junior year) and won't get my junior license until April-ish.
This makes it difficult for me to be able to volunteer/work at the places I want to, which usually close by 6PM. And I could only find 1 art class that I'd be able to take.
It's even worse during the summer because I have all this time and all these things I could be doing but I have no way of getting to them

How do you guys manage to do it?

HisGraceFillsMe

Two words:

Public Transportation.

I drive (w00t for driving), but the majority of my friends who don't take PT. Check the bus schedules; there's probably one that stops near your school and goes near where you need to go.

Johnson181

Public busses don't always work- some just aren't safe or you don't have them.

For me? I drive myself now, but pre that my mom got me everywhere...
For the most part, back in middle school (pre me going to a private school that doesn't have school buses), most of my EC's were at the school and I could take the late bus home.

PKswmr76

I would just ask my friends for rides.

SomethingWitty

I have the same problem. My mother is a single parent and she works, roughly until 6:30 every night. It's sometimes possible for her to leave work to drive me around for about ten minutes, but usually, she's in meetings and unable to leave.

She drops me off at school, and my completely unmotivated neighbor's grandfather gives me rides home. I say completely unmotivated because when he's not playing football, he's sitting in his bedroom playing videogames, and he would never even think about staying for an EC. My mother refuses to ask his grandfather to come back to the school to pick me up if I have to stay late because he's older and has health problems, and there is no latebus. Most of my friends live on the other side of town and are unable to drive me home without going far out of their way. I'm not allowed to walk home, for whatever reason, and I don't get my license until my senior year (I'm a sophomore).

So, last year, I was pretty much stuck, and only allowed to go to EC's when my neighbor had football practice. This year, I'm not playing by those rules anymore. I'll sit outside of the school until my mother gets off work if I have to.

HisGraceFillsMe

If she's in NY she could also look into other options like the subway or even taxi's...they're a bit more pricey but they get you where you need to go.

SomethingWitty

She might not be in the city. Outside of Manhattan, all of those subways and taxis are almost nonexistant.

alamode

^^yup. people tend to forget that.

I'm in NY but suburbs not the city. If I was in the city it would be no problem at all...I could walk nearly anywhere and I'd have a MetroCard

So no luck in the public transportation department...there aren't buses that stop by our school and/or go to the places I need to be

The other problem is that my school district encompases ~5 towns and most of my friends live at least 15-20 minutes away from me in the opposite direction. Plus they wouldn't be interested in doing what I want to do (art classes, volunteering at the historical society, etc)

Its just really annoying because I really want to be doing this stuff and I can't just because of a lack of transportation.
Damn NY. There are places where kids can drive at 15.

Colleges should take that into consideration, haha.
It's really unfair though. I know people who have parents who don't work and are basically their personal chauffers when required. A big advantage.
Maybe I'll post in the Parents Forum

SomethingWitty

^^ You have pretty much the same problem I do, w/ the school that encompasses five towns. I live in the NY suburbs too. Are you sure we don't go to the same school?

alamode

^^haha

Rockland County?

SomethingWitty

^ No, Long Island. Nassau County.

alamode

lol I guess not then

Johnson181

I used to be in Suffolk!
I miss LI...

But back to what you can do- why don't you just take the school bus? I'm pretty sure all NY schools have buses...

pcpharaoh

Why are people so dependent in every single thing they do? Your body is given amazingly strong muscles and stamina, use it.

Start running, and schedule the running time in so that you have enough time to get there. Even if you suck at running now, if you start going a couple miles every day there and back to every activity, you get really good really fast.

Or get a bike. Get a used bike on Craigslist for 50 bucks, and you can get to some places faster than you can in a car. Combine a bike with public transit, and you can go pretty much anywhere.

Yes, some people may be in the middle of nowhere, but a bike can get you surprisingly far. And this is your only option when you don't have friends or parents that can transport you.

Johnson181

Sorry. Not even going to consider the bike idea where I live. (And there's not a chance in hell I'd consider running).

Thank goodness I have a car.