OPINION: Unitrans bus schedule should take high schoolers into consideration

INFOGRAPHIC: Unitrans Bus schedule and class dismissal

By Mattias RowenBale,

BlueDevilHUB.com staff,

The infamous new bell schedule introduced this year at Davis High had one primary purpose: To comply with Senate Bill 328, which mandated secondary school start times across the state to be pushed back to 8:30 a.m.
This law was passed with the goal of allowing students to sleep in later and come to school more well rested. However, for some, transportation issues mean that this extra sleep is not an option.
“Class starts 15 minutes later yet I’m taking the exact same bus to school,” junior Ella Del Favero said.
While the bus has only made Del Favero late for school once, they must leave their house early to avoid possible delays. “I find it really irritating that I have to plan to take a bus 30 minute earlier than needed just to account for the bus being late,” they said.
The bus schedule has caused the same problems for senior Normar Palomares, who says he has to leave early because it takes him “at least 20 minutes to get to the school.”
Those who try to get the extra sleep often find themselves late to school, even after getting on the bus at the correct time.
“Sometimes the bus arrives late to the school so the bus schedule does make it hard for me to get to class on time,” senior Davis Evans said.
Evans wishes there were another bus that arrived at school before the bell but doesn’t require students to get to school almost a half hour early. “I feel like the bus schulde should adapt to the bell schedule and start its route at a time so that it gets to school at least 10 minutes before the bell rings,” he said.
Additionally, three tardies now means serious disciplinary action, including detention and being put on a no activities list, even if those tardies are unavoidable thanks to the inconsistent arrival of the bus.
The lack of synchronicity between the two schedules also creates problems after school, when Evans sometimes waits 30 minutes for the bus to arrive.
Seventh period ends exactly at 3:30, at the same time as the soonest bus, which according to Del Favero means “either sprinting to the bus stop at the bell and hoping the bus is late, or waiting an extra 30 minutes.”
Unfortunately, Del Favero says they often have to wait even longer than 30 minutes “if the bus is late, (which) it usually is.”
These issues all mean that students who are unable to drive, walk or bike to the high school are often left to wait at bus stops for extended periods of time and risk being late to classes. These inconveniences eat up significant portions of student days, especially for those who take the bus every day.
As Del Favero sees it, there is only one real solution: “The bus schedule should be changed to better accomodate DHS students.”