The idiocy of making students pay to take the school bus
Early in my economics classes they spoke of private and public goods.
Public goods are provided by the government or by nature for the welfare of people without any cost. Private goods are goods that are produced and sold by private companies to earn a profit. School bussing is clearly a public good. Additionally, it is good for the environment (if that is something you care about).
Pricing and Incentives of Riding the School Bus
Let's look at the pricing and incentives of riding the school bus and how that changes behavior. Let's say the policy is for students in grades 7-12 who do not receive free/reduced lunch are required to pay $180/year for the bus with a $360/family cap. Additionally, anyone living under 1 mile from school has to pay (since they could walk).
This is essentially $1 a day to get your kid to school, and that is a very good deal. Everyone should be happy to pay it, correct?
Common Concerns
The first question that comes to mind is, "Why doesn't the town pay for this?" The typical response is that the school department doesn't have enough money, so they are creating a bunch of "user fees." We don't have time to explore this issue in this short piece.
Consequences of Charging a Fee
So what happens when you charge a fee? A bunch of parents decide that $180 right now before the school year is a lot of money, so they decide to drive their kids. Other parents decide that 1 mile is too far to walk, and the bus might pick them up at the beginning of the trip, so even though they are 1 mile away, it takes 20 minutes on the bus, and that isn't fair to their kid. Some parents cave to their kids who say, "Jeffrey's parents drive him to school; why do I have to take the bus?"
Then what happens? All the parents line up and drive their kids to school, and the traffic takes longer. You have all these cars that make it hard for kids to walk to school, and the schools aren't set up to have all these kids dropped off in cars. In the afternoon, it is even worse as the school now has to set up systems to verify that they are putting the kids in the right cars with their parents. It takes longer to pick kids up than drop them off, and you have parents lined up around the schools to be the first ones to get their kids. The parents who choose to pick up their kids to avoid the fee make it harder for the parents who need to pick their kid up for an appointment or activity.
All of this is a waste.
The Solution: Free Buses
KIDS SHOULD BE TAKING THE BUS AND THE BUS SHOULD BE FREE. Buses are more efficient than cars in moving people and are better for the environment (if that is something you care about).
Creating Incentives for Bus Use
How can we create this incentive to put the kids on the bus?
Alternative Charging Model
Instead of charging kids to take the bus, charge them to be dropped off at school. Imagine a scenario where you have to pay $1 each time you are dropped off and $1 each day you are picked up. They charge the students for parking at school (typically due to a scarcity of spaces). Your kid misses the bus; it costs them $1. Now imagine it is $2 or $5. If the bus is free, wouldn't you put your kid on it?
I think the schools might make more money charging for drop-off than for bus use. They can use this money to pay for the buses, which would be free for all.
Benefits of Free Buses
This will also cut down on traffic around schools, not just for the parents of these kids but for the neighbors as well. Think of all the people who are slowed down around schools because of these parents unnecessarily dropping their kids off. This also takes many cars out of the area, which are often queued up and idling, and replaces them with buses that can stop and turn off their engines while they wait for and drop off students. (Good for the environment, if that is something you care about.)
Conclusion
MAKE THE BUSES FREE AND PUT THE KIDS ON THEM.
Comments