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PleaseBmoreCharming t1_jaa2it5 wrote

And another perfect example of why public transit in this city is so crucial and the failure of such a service is a failure for society as a whole.

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moderndukes t1_ja9o7er wrote

I mean, you also have to then consider the counter-question: does Baltimore City need school busses? A lot of cities go without them and rely on their public transit network.

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sassydragon23 t1_jaa0slg wrote

Exactly in Philly only the youngest elementary school students and special needs kids use school buses and it’s my understanding that New York is the same. Some school buses are prudent but a whole fleet seems like a waste of funds

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waterorsharks t1_jacdz8g wrote

The city uses taxis/Ubers for special ed students. I'm not sure about elementary.

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Animanialmanac t1_jaeed1c wrote

Elementary students have city school bus service, up to 6th grade. The title is misleading, only students 7th grade and older take MTA buses.

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No-Lunch4249 t1_jaa8cag wrote

Yeah riding the bus to work in DC I see kids on it all the time going to school. Plenty of cities are doing without.

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marvelmon t1_ja9yqk4 wrote

County high schools don't provide service under a mile. What's the longest distance in the city? Is it over a mile?

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water_in_the_forest t1_jaafv45 wrote

Yeah if you live within a certain radius you don't get the bus ticket packs. There's quite a few high schools (if not all of them) where kids are coming from all over the city.

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Xanny t1_jab93os wrote

The dumb school choice system means kids are being taken 3-5 miles across the city to the good schools.

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Bitchi3atppl t1_jac1lak wrote

We don’t get to go on any field trips. It costs about $2000 to rent a bus to go anywhere that isn’t within walking distance. Meaning we can’t take our kids to places like the science center, port discovery, the zoo, a planetarium, a theater, any fun locations to celebrate our successful scholars, that live science shit near fells, any trails or hikes that are 20mins out driving.

Not having a bus is an issue. It sucks that we cannot take them anywhere unless we fundraise money for it.

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jupitaur9 t1_jacos7f wrote

Is there a way to use public transportation for this?

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Bitchi3atppl t1_jaczvth wrote

Obviously yes but I really don’t see how can can fit approx 30-50 kids. We have large classes and it’s easier when our field trips involve more than one class with the goal of going to point xyz, especially for shows, productions etc.

We don’t have access to transportation as readily as we should and it sucks.

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jfichte t1_jae73a9 wrote

Yes, but Baltimore's public transit system is terribly insufficient. So it's not like we have some great, efficient bus system that can take public school kids to and from school, but also for field trips and after school activities like sports and the arts. Sure, if Baltimore had a functioning public transit system then maybe, but Baltimore's bus system is a mess, it's not sufficient for getting thousands of kids to and from school each day.

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VygotskyCultist t1_jaa26q1 wrote

There's a lot of reasons, but part of it is because school choice results in a chaotic commute for kids and schools who have students all over the city.

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Timid_Teacher t1_jaanfyp wrote

School choice does not result in good things for the most part. At my elementary school, our kids who come from out of zone are absent much more frequently than those who are in zone. It doesn't make sense to accept so many out of zone kids when this is the trend.

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megalomike t1_ja9oisp wrote

I think its telling that so many mainstream outlets in baltimore proceed from the assumption that their audience has zero real world knowledge.

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1212kina t1_ja9t7ih wrote

Did you listen to the podcast or are you just responding to the question?

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DrkvnKavod t1_ja9wlkb wrote

That's not a matter of those outlets being in Baltimore.

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megalomike t1_ja9wrlt wrote

I can only speak from direct experience but it wouldnt surprise me.

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DfcukinLite t1_jaa9v0z wrote

City schools always use public transportation

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Nicktendo t1_jaanij8 wrote

School choice complicated this

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Proper-Cheesecake602 t1_jacuz0e wrote

i thought it was normal for most cities to use public transit for city schools? DC, Philly, NYC, etc all do the same thing. Granted we should definitely improve the transit system here as ours is very subpar but overall all i see nothing wrong with this

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G0han1 t1_jaalr1t wrote

most of the buses passes by high schools and middle schools so they use public buses but for field trips and stuff they rent buses

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tangodeep t1_jabyomh wrote

It’s hilariously, tragically sad that buses, daily transportation and supportive staff aren’t on City school’s budget, casino money is supposed to be available, school bond issue money is in the millions, yet students still don’t have a lot of the basics, and terrible facilities in some schools. 🫣

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K_N0RRIS t1_jadiqt9 wrote

I love the Maryland Curiosity Bureau podcast.

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Special-Literature16 t1_jac85hm wrote

They get bus tickets from the school to ride on public transportation

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Maximum_Ginger t1_jaclttq wrote

Whenever the question is “Why doesn’t Baltimore have _____,” the answer is racism.

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2cats4ever t1_jadqbd2 wrote

Funny thing... I saw this post yesterday and then saw two yellow Baltimore City School Buses a few hours later when I was walking up 28th street.

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JupiterBass t1_jadqo0g wrote

The city should focus on expanding and working with the current bus system. The streets are already congested, more buses won't help. On top of that most other cities do fine without Buses.

Maybe they should expand the charm city circulator?

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ObviousGazelle t1_jaadplx wrote

Because nobody In the council or the mayor's office has figured out how to introduce it by making themselves rich yet.

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