Wake County Schools Bus Schedules have been in flux and have seen changes this year as kids across the county headed back to school. WRAL has reported the following:

RALEIGH, N.C. — Wake County students will walk further to bus stops this traditional school year as the Wake County Public Schools System cuts school bus routes and stops to improve the efficiency of its transportation system, the district announced Monday.

School busses will travel 116 fewer routes and make 4,000 fewer stops than last school year, said the district, which also outlined maximum walking distances to bus stops:

• Three-tenths of a mile for elementary students
• Half a mile for middle and high school students

With 21,000 stops, most students will not be affected, officials said. 

According to one parent, this is crap. Kids who live in the “walk zone” are being told they can’t ride the bus. A Wake parent contacted me and told me the following:

“The street I live on is 1.1 miles from our neighborhood school (Lacy Elementary). The kids on our block have lost their bus stop, and parents were told that the “walk zone” now extends 1.5 miles around the school. Because kids on my street live in the “walk zone,” they not only don’t have a bus stop, but they can’t “walk a little further” to get on the bus as the spokesperson claimed to WRAL.

My neighbor was told by Broughton Transportation and the assistant principal at Lacy that b/c she lives in the “walk zone” her children are PROHIBITED from riding the bus. So even if she wanted to walk them down the street to where the bus will still be stopping, she is not allowed to do this.

Based on what my neighbor was told, this WRAL story is totally false.”

The parent elaborated on “walk zones” for me:

“Now, let’s talk about this “walk zone.” Presumably the county has determined that it is safe for children on our street to walk to school. That’s interesting. There are no sidewalks in our neighborhood. In addition, the quickest path to Lacy from our street goes past a rental property that was recently occupied by a registered sex offender. There is also the matter of a busy street that must be crossed — with no crossing guard.

It’s also interesting that some streets within the “walk zone” will continue to have bus service, while others will not. No criteria have been provided for how these decisions were made.”

Have other parents in Wake County encountered this “walk zone”? Are they being told their kids cannot ride the bus even if there is a route within said “walk zone”?  If you are such a parent, send me your story at TheLL1885@gmail.com please.