Taking the bus? Make sure your commute to school is a smooth ride

January 10, 2006|By Emilie Le Beau, Special to the Tribune

A school bus ride isn't always a joy ride. Adam K., 12, of Streamwood has a 30-minute bus ride to and from school. After school, it's yet another bus ride to football practice. The ride can be bumpy, and the bus can get uncomfortably hot.

"Sometimes when I get hot, I get nauseous," he says. "Last year, the bus driver told me to throw up out the window."

Adam did, and had a pretty miserable ride. Now he takes his jacket off when it feels too warm on the bus. He usually sits with his friends during the ride, and says other kids do homework or listen to music on headphones.

Whatever you do on the bus to pass the miles, make sure you're aware of other riders, says Alex J. Packer, author of the "How Rude!" series of etiquette books for kids ($19.95, Free Spirit Press). Here are some ways to ensure a smooth ride:

Don't do the bump. Hitting others with your backpack can be annoying. You'll probably want to take your pack off and hold it while looking for a seat.

"You're walking down the aisle with 12 cubic feet of backpack, and you turn and bump someone in the face," Packer says. "Be careful, and know your body and possession limits."

Don't take up extra seats. "You see that all the time on the public buses: A kid will sit down and sprawl," Packer says. If the bus is crowded, don't give your backpack its own seat.

Don't stress about saved seats. Be cool about seating. If you're saving a seat for a friend and another rider wants to sit, nicely explain the spot is being saved, Packer says.

If you're seat searching and a kid swears the empty seat next to him is taken, just move along. "Try and sit with someone that seems like some-one you could get along with," Adam says. "If not, sit by someone else the next day."

Don't bring smelly or messy snacks. Mom's chicken with garlic and pesto may have been great at dinner last night, but your fellow riders probably won't care for its smell today.

Don't leave your garbage behind. Take your trash with you. Leaving trash behind may mean another kid has to ride with your wrappers, Packer says.

Don't cop an attitude with the bus driver. Packer recommends saying "hello," "goodbye" and "thank you" to the bus driver every day. At the end of the year, give the driver a gift from everyone or ask him or her to sign your yearbook.

"You'll appreciate it on the day you're running late and the driver sees you a block away running for the bus," Packer says. "That driver will wait for you."