School bus leaving too early from Enda's

Galwaymother

Hi!
I'm looking for ideas here, as my daughter (in First Year) misses her bus home from Enda's to Crestwood area. It leaves at 4.07, she finishes at 4, and needs to get books from locker etc. Plus Enda is enormous, so she doesn't have the time to get there...
How do other students do it? The only alternative is for her to take a bus to town at half past and then another bus home. A long wait, a long trek, expensive, and tiring with a heavy bag! I made sure before registering her that there was a bus, thought it would be tight, but didn't factor the locker thing, etc.
Thanks for any suggestions.

Head The Wall

Tell her to get her books from her locker before 4pm. I don't want to hear that she can't either, surely she has access to her locker sometime during the day.

Oh God, I'll never forget the rush to get the bus. Talk to the principal about it - surely your daughter can't be the only one who misses the bus.

Galwaymother

She has access to her locker at lunch break, where she would have to figure out which books she needs for the afternoon, and which she needs for her homework, and then carry them around. That might be what she'll end up doing, but she's not that organised yet!
She seems to be the only one from Enda's in that bus, the others are Taylor's and Salerno girls. I think they finish earlier.
I might talk to the principal about it if we can't solve it ourselves...

biko

Does any other students in her school live near you? If so maybe she can go with them - car/bus?

Galwaymother

We don't yet know anybody going that way, none of our neighbours do, except maybe one going from here one week over two...Haven't seen him yet though.

Galwaymother

Hi! Me again...
My daughter is still not getting that bus, it's a mystery to me, as sometimes she's even early etc. She's been trying to get buses to town on Taylor's Hill or Threadneedle Road, and either waited very long (4.45), or saw no bus going through at all, like yesterday. She walked to her Dad's office in town on that occasion (3/4 of an hour), fortunately it wasn't raining! She is arriving home an hour and a half later than she should...
When I talked to the school, they just made her leave class early on that day, but it's not something she could do regularly.
She gets her books at lunchtime so does not go through her locker in the evening.
What can I do?

Head The Wall

Again it's fairly simple, who provides the service that is supposed to leave at 4:07. Give them a call and see is the service still running, if not why not, have you an old timetable etc. Pop down yourself someday and see is your daughter actualy there on time.

Get the finger out and do the basics yourself first, we're here to offer advice if someone is having difficulty but you seem unwilling to do anything yourself

Galwaymother

I have called Bus Eireann numerous times, and they say the service is running etc., but to say the truth they are confused themselves, as I found out about morning bus times...First they said 8. 15, then after missing a few I phoned again and they said 8. And now the bus is leaving at 8.15 again! I don't have a car, so I know all about how unreliable Bus Eireann can be in Galway.

I couldn't get there at 4 easily, working hours, remember? I have planned to go this afternoon, I have freed myself as I am fed up with the situation.

Head the Wall you replied slightly nastily before, when you said "I don't want to hear she can't get to her lockers before", when I had no intention of telling you that. If the thread annoys you for some reason, or if you think I'm some helpless lazy person, then don't read or reply. Thank you.

Placebo Effect

Jaysus, this brings back memories.

We used to be allowed leave class ten minutes early.
Not sure if it's still a option.

apoeiguq3094y

Head The Wall wrote: »

Again it's fairly simple, who provides the service that is supposed to leave at 4:07. Give them a call and see is the service still running, if not why not, have you an old timetable etc. Pop down yourself someday and see is your daughter actualy there on time.

Get the finger out and do the basics yourself first, we're here to offer advice if someone is having difficulty but you seem unwilling to do anything yourself

Thats a bit harsh. It seems fairly obvious that the OP has, as you so eloquently put it, pulled the finger out. Also the OP asked for ideas/ alternatives to the bus. I doubt her daughter is missing the bus on purpose just so that she can have a nice hour long walk home.

gaeilgegrinds1

I would say contact the principal, ours deals with all those issues and got a bus to delay by 5 minutes a few years back making all the difference to students.

LadyMayBelle

Contact the principal, and surely there are other children missing the bus if it leaves at that time too?

Not impressed at all with Head the Walls comments, I know myself and form experiences my siblings have had with buses how frustrating it can be. My younger brother caught pneumonia a few years back waiting for a private company bus hired to collect the kids and bring them to school..they'd be left standing for up to twenty minutes in the cold, even with coats etc.

Good luck

soundbyte

Endas *always* lets the bus posse leave classes early. I presume every school does.

Pwpane

soundbyte wrote: »

Endas *always* lets the bus posse leave classes early. I presume every school does.

Why on earth should students have to leave class early to catch a bus that services the school??? :eek:

As others have said, contact the Principal or the Deputy Principal, or the Parents' Committee or higher up in Bus Eireann - or a local politician! (I see a picture in the Advertiser of Padraig Conneely standing at the bus stop....)

If you do get to visit the bus stop at the school, try talking to the driver to find out the real story.

Head The Wall

Deleted User wrote: »

Talk to the principal about it - surely your daughter can't be the only one who misses the bus.

This was posted two weeks ago by another user, I don't mean to be harsh but you need to talk to the principal not a secretary who is probably just going to give you lip service and see if they can do anything to help.

If it's a Bus Eireann issue I doubt there can be much reasoning done with them although the principal may get a bit further than yourself. There's two avenues to try you will just have to be a bit more dogmatic to try and get it resolved. If they fail I don't know what could be done otherwise

when i was in endas in the early 90s, all the renmore/mervue lads used to get out 15 mins early to get their bus down outside endas national

combat5

as i go to endas what i do is get all my books a lunch and not a 4

Galwaymother

Thanks combat5, that's what my daughter has been doing, but she still misses it! I think she's not the only one either...

Mrs OBumble

Deleted User wrote: »

when i was in endas in the early 90s, all the renmore/mervue lads used to get out 15 mins early to get their bus down outside endas national

That's one and a quarter hours of teaching time that they missed out on every week. Not an acceptable solution IMHO.

Galwaymother

I've arranged for my daughter to be picked up by a friend on the problematic days. For the one left, she's getting a note from the office to be let out 5 minutes before end of class. Hope it will be enough. It's ok this year, as it's a less essential class she'll be leaving early. I agree with JustMary, I wouldn't be happy to make her leave class early everyday...
I have to say that the situation is not ideal long-term, and I'm lucky to have a friend on that side of town whose child also goes there.
It is just sad we cannot always rely on the public transport. School pick-ups contribute so much to traffic problems in Galway.

Head The Wall

It's a vicious circle, people don't feel its safe to let their kids make their own way to school due to all the cars in the vicinity. So they drive them in further compounding and actually becoming part of the problem themselves.

Hope it works out

TheCosmicFrog

Head the Wall, your comments are completely uncalled for. Unless you have anything useful to say besides the equivalent of "Your daughter is in the wrong", then don't waste valuable webspace by posting.

Galwaymother, I totally understand where you're coming from. My bus used to leave at the same time I got out of school, so for years I was playing a fine balancing act between trying to get out of class early and running like hell with my bag on my back to the bus stop. Some teachers were sympathetic and let me out five minutes early, others didn't. Principal just laughed when I explained my problem.

biko

Ok people calm down please.
Thanks

Galwaymother

Wooooo it got heated...I think Head the Wall semi-apologised anyway: "I don't mean to sound harsh".
Anyway, we got result this evening: she got her bus home!!!!! Yeah! Score! (as she would say!):D
Thanks for all the interest, hopefully everything will go smoothly from now on...

WallyGUFC

Bus Eireann are and always have been a complete and utter joke. Our bus in the mornings came at times varying from 8 to 8.30! Evenings I used to get a bus from school to the station and from the station home. The 1st bus mightn't come til 4.25 and the bus home was 4.30. Crazy.

If she's already getting her books at lunch there's not much else she can do really. I don't think it concerns the Principal either. Maybe go to the station and have a chat with someone there, although they're notoriously arrogant. If there's more than 1 missing it though there's a real problem there.