Buses are far superior
Ellie Lawrence
Riding the bus to school beginning in 9th grade was one of the most helpful experiences in my life. While it was stressful trying to catch the bus on time, and I had almost no personal space — I gained plenty of lifelong skills.
By riding the bus, I learned organizational and time-management skills, gained some responsibility, and experienced new freedom. While the bus can be a scary place, it is a good environment for people to practice being independent. Busing can help better the person riding the bus, and its benefits outweigh the convenience of driving to school.
Honestly, trying to find parking near Roosevelt High School is chaos, and has to be done far enough away from school that it takes blocks to even walk to school. When it comes to cars, busing is also much cheaper. By taking the bus for a year, it’s possible to save at least $847 dollars on gas money alone (which is getting more expensive each day).
What’s also getting higher each day is our world’s CO2 emissions. These emissions cause smog, air pollution, and respiratory diseases, and contribute to climate change. Each individual car emits these gasses, so by taking the bus (which transports more people in one vehicle), you are helping to lower these emissions.
Ultimately, when it comes to parking, gas money, and saving the environment — busing is a way better mode of transportation than driving.
Cars are clearly better
Kate Fox
It’s a Wednesday afternoon, school just got out, and you are leaving the building to ride the 62 bus home. You stand at the bus stop for 20 minutes, the icy wind whipping. When the bus finally arrives, you and the rest of Roosevelt High School cram on a bus that can clearly not fit everyone, but fit they will. So you stand, backpack between your legs, packing in like sardines as the bus sinks under the weight.
Suddenly, students from the back of the bus are throwing M&Ms at innocent transit riders. A barrage of rainbow chocolate candies rains down along with a tennis ball, nailing you in the back of the head.
Can you guess why I don’t take public transit?
I used to take the bus all the time to and from school. It was great at first, however, when I began to participate more in after-school activities, I began to feel on edge. Long walks to the stop and a lengthy wait for the bus in the dark become just a bit scarier when you’re a teenage girl alone.
As a junior, I can finally drive myself to school, and while the parking may be egregious, I find myself feeling much better about getting home from school and avoiding the travails of the bus.
Not only that, but a car gives you more freedom at lunch.
I completely understand that I have the privilege of a car to take to school and that people don’t always have that option. However, because I do have the luxury of choice, I would undoubtedly choose to take a car to school over any bus — even if the car I drive is growing mold and sporting a fashionably vintage cassette player.
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