For many high school students, getting a driver’s license is a major milestone in the teenage experience. A license may be the key to freedom, a step away from overbearing parents, and for many, it is a release from the constraints of an overcrowded bus. While the student parking lot comes with its own set of problems, those who have experienced being crammed in a bus seat with two strangers, along with those strangers’ overloaded backpacks, winter coats, or band instruments, would opt for the struggle of the parking lot as opposed to the cramped school bus.
According to Francis Howell School District’s guidelines, a three-to-one-seat ratio is not technically considered overcrowding, but this guideline does not account for all factors that could possibly play into a tight transit system. However, the transportation department tries to work around this guideline while being as efficient as possible. FHSD’s Director of Transportation, Jennifer Simpson, notes that while the manufacturer-rated capacity of a standard school bus is three students to a seat, they do not plan according to strictly this standard.
“We do not route high school buses to have three students in every seat,” Simpson said. “The general rule is to plan for two students per seat, understanding that a few seats might need to be utilized for one student.”
Though three to a seat is understandable at an elementary level, especially when taking into account the resources available as well as efficiency, this regulation becomes more unrealistic when viewing it from the perspective of grown teenagers. A standard bus seat is typically just over three feet wide, and when imagining three students crammed into one seat of that size, as well as their overfilled backpacks, it is easy to see how this is more than just a slightly uncomfortable inconvenience. According to Principal Suzanne Leake, a student choosing to sit in the aisle instead of elbowing their way onto a seat is an issue that has been taken into consideration before.
“When a kid does report that their bus is overcrowded, or we might hear a parent say, ‘My child said they had to sit in the aisle,’ we can look back at the video [to confirm],” Leake said. “We would never say that that’s okay. We would not want a bus to leave the lot if kids are not on a seat.”
While Dr. Leake does not have control over the routes or the number of students on a bus, there are still steps that she takes when she hears complaints of uncomfortable overcrowding.
“We will work with [the transportation department], but we know that they will say three to a seat is their guideline,” Leake said. “We will push back on that a little bit, just to advocate for the kids sake.”
While the regulations set in place by the transportation department play a big role in the experience of bus riding students, this is not the only deciding factor. The students affect their own experience when it comes to crowded buses, as well as that of those around them. Even for students like senior Arshley Wanambisi, who has not been subjected to the three-to-a-seat level of crowding in the same way as others, has noticed the way the actions of students play into the cramped feeling. Wanambisi has seen first hand how often times, the oversized book bags of students, as well as where they are put, can end up causing the same squeezed feeling.
“Most of [the students] do not even move [their backpacks for] you to sit. Which is inconsiderate, because the bus is public, it’s not yours,” Wanambisi said.
Though having a backpack take up space on a seat is not seemingly consequential, when multiple students choose to have their book bag sit next to them as opposed to another rider needing a seat, it can quickly become an issue, even for buses that are not packed as tightly as others. Wanambisi sees a simple solution to help ease the jammed feeling of buses, choosing to move oversized bags in order to make room for others.
“My bus is definitely not all overcrowded like [the other] buses, but if I saw somebody standing, and they came up to me and they wanted to sit in a chair I would move my backpack to [have] the person sit, because that’s what you do as a human,” Wanambisi said.
While there is not a simple solution for students who feel the uncomfortable effects of bus overcrowding, there are steps that can be taken by both those in charge as well as those who live it in order to move toward a more comfortable bus ride for all.
