Michael’s Mayhem: Crowded Michael’s Buses

Lately, students have been struggling to get seats on Michael’s buses because there has been an increase in students taking the buses. This is happening on all bus lines, but especially on the Berkeley and Orinda buses. On these two lines, there is not enough room for kids to sit safely, and it is far from comfortable. Students and parents are concerned about the lack of safety and comfort of the school’s transportation.

Over the past few years, there has been a noticeable increase in crowding on the buses. Several students who were interviewed brought up safety concerns along with the cramped conditions. Most afternoons, kids have to sit three people on the seats initially designed for two. According to Harper Wood-Soloff, a freshman who takes the Berkeley line, some students are forced to sit in the aisles on the floor since there are no available seats. While sitting on the floor is extremely uncomfortable, it is also unsafe. If the bus were to get into an accident or even take a sharp turn, students sitting on the edges of seats or in the aisles could end up injured. 

Buses started filling up when the pandemic ended because families felt more comfortable sending their kids to school on mass transportation. These buses are a very convenient mode of transportation for families that can’t drive their kids to school, especially for those who live far away from the school. Some families also choose to send their children to school on the bus for environmental reasons. Using mass transportation reduces the air and noise pollution coming from cars during student drop-off. 

Taking the bus can be quite stressful. “You always have to go up to the bus early because the seats run out,” stated Isa Salgado-Manso, a freshman who rides the Berkeley bus. On the Orinda bus, there have been several situations where people were pulled off the bus and driven home separately because there wasn’t enough room. The buses are becoming less reliable and families can’t count on the bus to bring every student home. 

Director of Operations, Ana Gomez, recognized this issue by saying: “We have two bus lines right now that are overfilling, so there’s too many students in them. The solution is to add another bus and my hope is that with adding that other bus, we also get more people to sign up for the Micheal’s bus program.” 

The possibility of a new bus will prevent overcrowding and increase comfortability and space for students. Additionally, a second bus will provide more availability for families to sign up for the Michael’s Bus program, which can potentially reduce noise and air pollution on our campus. With this new bus, students will finally be able to travel safely and happily.