Mistreatment on buses continues as the bus driver shortage grows

Sienna Ford, Reporter

Not everyone takes the bus but those that do understand the frustration. The biggest issue that occurs on the bus is people mistreating each other. It’s not rare to hear a slur or a derogatory remark towards someone else.  

“I feel like a lot of people on the bus act out and it makes them seem very immature,” Ellie Faya (’23) said. “I see others being made fun of constantly and I do not think it is a good way to act.”  

Many people think that it is okay to act out because of how little authority there is. Students feel there is a free range to act however as they please. However, not all buses are the same.  

Junior, Amelia Belardi said everyone on her bus has fun while still managing to care for one another.  

“[The] Middle schoolers are a little rowdy,” Belardi said. “We all compromise if someone gets hurt about a comment.”  

 Especially with middle schoolers being combined with high schoolers, there is a major gap in maturity. Most of the conflict that occurs on the bus is between lower classmen and the middle schoolers. 

“The current issue is with the bus shortage,” Covert said. “There is a lot of combined buses so high schoolers and middle schoolers are mixed.” said Covert.  

Because bus drivers are underpaid and treated poorly by students, there is a shortage of bus drivers. This has caused current bus drivers to pick up the slack and take more students than they’re supposed to.   

The more pressing issue is the misbehavior on buses. Students should know better than to mistreat their bus drivers and other students riding the bus. The bus ride to and from school should not be a stressful trip. Going forth bus riders should watch how they behave and what they say.