![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
The wheels on the school bus are no longer going round and round. Why not?
Yes, I know the schools have all shut down because of the pandemic. But most of those buses are sitting idle and gas is dirt-cheap. Why are we not making better use of those vehicles to bring school supplies, medical supplies or groceries to families in self-isolation? And while we're at it, what about all those bus drivers, crossing guards and school staff who are now out of work and likely out of pocket too?
In Ontario at least, many of those people were out of work long before the lockdown began, due to labour unrest on the education front. It seems to me that bus drivers could still be driving and those other folk could still be rounding up needed supplies and loading them on board the buses, all while respecting the need for physical distancing and contactless delivery.
School buses have unique safety features and are accorded unique rights and privileges under the Highway Traffic Act and other laws. You mustn't pass a school bus while its signals are flashing. There are special school bus loading and unloading zones. Then there are those safety zones around schools, where fines for speeding and other traffic violations may be doubled or tripled. The laws are still on the books and still offer some protection, even if the cargo being loaded and unloaded is inanimate.
Instead of throwing people UNDER the bus during the pandemic, why not get them back ON the buses, providing services that are desperately needed?
Yes, I know the schools have all shut down because of the pandemic. But most of those buses are sitting idle and gas is dirt-cheap. Why are we not making better use of those vehicles to bring school supplies, medical supplies or groceries to families in self-isolation? And while we're at it, what about all those bus drivers, crossing guards and school staff who are now out of work and likely out of pocket too?
In Ontario at least, many of those people were out of work long before the lockdown began, due to labour unrest on the education front. It seems to me that bus drivers could still be driving and those other folk could still be rounding up needed supplies and loading them on board the buses, all while respecting the need for physical distancing and contactless delivery.
School buses have unique safety features and are accorded unique rights and privileges under the Highway Traffic Act and other laws. You mustn't pass a school bus while its signals are flashing. There are special school bus loading and unloading zones. Then there are those safety zones around schools, where fines for speeding and other traffic violations may be doubled or tripled. The laws are still on the books and still offer some protection, even if the cargo being loaded and unloaded is inanimate.
Instead of throwing people UNDER the bus during the pandemic, why not get them back ON the buses, providing services that are desperately needed?
