<p>Where I live, there is no public school bussing provided if one lives 2 miles from the elementary school and 3 miles from the middle or high school. We just meet the cut for the middle school bus but it is insane, very dangerous for ANY one to walk from my area to the local elementary school because it involves walking along a hilly, curvy busy road with no sidewalk, no pathway even, little shouder or even leeway. It’s treacherous. Fortunately for the school district, the homes up that hill are all for high income families so the kids either go to private schools and bussing is provided due to distances to any of them, or the parents drive them to school. However, there are low income areas, along busy roads that are quite the distance from the school, and, yes, those kids walk. Alone, in packs, some accompanied by a parent but they do walk, rain or shine. </p>
<p>My district has bus service for all elementary school students - even if you live right next to the school. Until a few years ago - every elementary student was picked up at their house but in the last few they have changed it to group bus stops at the nearest corner, unless there is a K student in the house - then it is door to door. Middle schoolers more than 1/2 mile get bussed and high school the limit is a mile. </p>
<p>We bought our home specifically so my kid could walk or ride his bike to elementary school (approx 1 mile.) I allowed him to start riding his bike the spring of 1st grade - walking would have taken him forever at that age. Except in bad weather a lot of the kids at his elem school walked. Except for one elementary school in the district - which is on a very busy road with no neighborhoods anywhere near it - kids in my town could walk/ride to their elem school if they lived close enough. </p>
<p>Middle school kids who live in the 2 hamlets closest to where the school is located also walk or rode - but kids from the other 3 hamlets are too far away (some as far as 10 miles.) Ditto for the high school. My home is close to all three so walking/biking always an option. S went to a private high school 15 miles away so obviously he couldn’t walk or bike there. Busing by the home district is required if private school within 15 miles of district. </p>
<p>I think the majority of kids who live close enough to walk often take the bus to school but walk home. The middle school is right down the street from the village center and a lot of the kids walk there after school and go to the coffee shop or pizza place after school, then either walk home or get picked up. Same for high school kids until the get their licenses and then they all drive. </p>
<p>Only a couple of the schools in our district are within walking distance of a neighborhood and transportation is provided by school buses. Kids that live close enough walk but I don’t think anyone bikes because our roads are not bike friendly - narrow with ditches on the side.</p>
<p>This obviously depends on where you live. You can go a lot further in Georgia than you can in Minnesota. </p>
<p>Elementary school buses here if you are in school area but greater than one mile.
Middle school buses seem to go out 4-5 miles. </p>
<p>I walk about 2 hours a day but when I walk with my daughter to school I am amazed at how SLOW she walks. ARGH. </p>
<p>IMHO (in my humble opinion) kids here in the Phoenix area should not be walking very far on afternoons when the school prohibits them from even recess outside (over 110)–which would be all of August (school starts 8/5), and up to two weeks each of September and May. . </p>
<p>Many public middle school - high school kids in NYC are using public transportation (subway system) that takes them about one hour one way. That would take a long bicycle ride. </p>
<p>My kids walked about a half mile to elementary school and middle school. Their high school is about 3/4 mile away. Because this past winter was so harsh, they had far more rides to school than we normally provide. Our district has no school busses, other than for a few varsity sports teams. I love that my kids walk/bike everywhere, but get a sick feeling whenever I hear sirens go off during the time I know they’re walking to/from school! </p>
<p>Tempemom, back in my day, school started after Sept 1, if I remember correctly. It was hot, but such is life in AZ. I crossed Scottsdale Road and walked a mile from one side of downtown to another. We had parks and shops en route. </p>
<p>GLM—Yikes! On the other hand, in the “olden days” we did lots of stuff kids today don’t. Our moms would kick us out of the house and tell us not to come home til dark. </p>
<p>In our area, free buses are provided for those who live 2 or more miles away. Anyone can ride a bus if they pay for it. Our elementary school is about 1/2 mile away, middle is 1.5 miles and high school is right next door. Many kids walk/ride bikes to elementary and middle. I always walk my kids back and forth to elementary (this is my exercise program). Our son walked from the middle school, but daughters car-pooled. Some kids from our neighborhood actually drive to the high school–which I think is a crime since it is less than 1/4 mile through the gate and across the lawn. When I was young, our district provided buses if it was more than a mile. They literally drew a circle on a map. Even on the same block of the same street there were some who qualified for the bus, and some who didn’t.</p>
<p>I live across the street from my school (basically on campus - at a high school) and it actually takes longer to get in a car and drive than it does to walk.</p>
<p>Our elementary school was walking distance (.75 miles) but my kids were in latch key so I had to drop them off, sign them in and pick them up and sign them out. When my son was in 5th grade, he asked if he could stop going to latch key. That was ok with me. He walked it then (to his dad’s house, my house is considerably further and not walking distance from any elementary). The middle school and high school are 6 miles from my house, about 5 from their dad’s house along major roads with no sidewalks. They were going to eliminate busing for kids within a mile but then a kid was hit by a semi truck and killed on the shoulder of the street the high school is on and they nixed that plan. My kids drove as soon as they were able to drive, in high school. </p>