This stomach dropping feeling is common to every student who rides the bus. Bus drivers have been late on arrival and late on pick up. It also has happened during the afternoon pickup that a bus driver came half an hour late, leaving riders to sit and wait for their always tardy bus. Bus drivers also have been known to speed through their stops when they run late. Meaning students who are not out in clear sight will get passed by.

First Student Inc., the bus company employed by the district, has very modern technology designed to help keep track of students pick ups and drop offs, but this technology is too much.

Every bus has a built in GPS that can tell First Student Inc. the speed, pick up, drop offs and passes the driver makes at any given time. This monitoring might be why drivers are over concerned with staying on time, not allowing students like myself to board the bus away from the original stop.

Racing out toward the bus in the afternoon, a wave of relief hit me when I saw that my bus had stopped about 10-20 feet away from the original stop. Traffic congestion was my friend, or so I thought.

Knocking on the bus door politely I saw a simple gesture, one that meant no ride home. A simple head shake, and the bus was off. Standing there watching the bus leave was a student with time to kill and in need of an alternate ride home.

The company should start with the core of the problem, which would be the drivers. They should evaluate their drivers by placing an assistant in the bus for about a week. This may not be a solution, but if nothing else, it is a step in the right direction.

The sun climbs and brings a gray light to the sky while I unwillingly awake. Glancing at the clock, it reads 6:43. Translation: I have two minutes to throw on my shoes, hurriedly brush my teeth and be outside in time for the bus. Racing outside, I fling open the door and experience the familiar feeling of watching the back of my bus zoom down the street.