Hello Minneapolis Folks,
I was riding the bus (MTC) this morning with my son from my home to his school. He lives with be approximately half the time and his mother the other half. His mother home is about four blocks from his school, Field. I live about 3.5 miles from his school and because of the change to neighborhood schools they do not bus that far. The nearest school bus stop is about 1.5 miles from our home, so we ride the MTC to his school, and then I proceed to work. It works out pretty good.
Our bus drive grew up in Chicago, and students used public commuter transportation using their student ID, instead of school buses, in the wind city. How much money we would save by integrating public school and commuter transit? I had several concerns having children using commuter transit, including safety, and the driver ability to handle a bus filled with kids and regular commuters. Our driver this morning seemed to not have any concerns. He pointed to the security cameras and his phone and said, "they all know the police can be here in a minute, and we have a photo of them." He doubted the regular school buses have the same level of technology and security. He thought the bus drivers would not have a difficult time directing the students to the correct buses, when a transfer would be required. They do this with adult commuters
, and
students would be traveling to the same place each day. Sounds pretty simple.
I personally would not feel comfortable having my child in elementary school ride commuter transit by themselves, but it might be a cost saving solution worth looking at for middle and high school students. It would also be a great way to teach young people about the advantages of using transit, instead of the automobile.
Questions for Mpls issue folks:
What is the average cost for busing a middle and high school student for a year?
It would cost about $60 a month to bus a teenage on commuter transit. I am assuming the student would far would be rush hour $1.75 one way, and $1.25 non-rush hour. The majority of student either leave in the early afternoon or start mid morning. Super Saver cards would bring that cost down.
Metropolitan Transit would have a guaranteed group of customers, and this could be used to negotiate a much lower price. I am assuming you could negotiate a cost of no less then $50 a month, which is about $400 a year per student. How much does that compare to our current cost per student?
Ken Bradley Corcoran Neighborhood
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