So I see the young lads down south are now bringing the Tractors to school 😮

AMKC

Not just any old Tractors big huge John Deeres and Claas Tractors. That was not even an option in my day. There was only one person in leaving cert that drove or could afford a car and that was a Ford Fiesta Van 95 model I think 🤔 .

Not that I would have wanted that option anyway. Must be a nightmare trying to park them monstrous machines.

Maybe they could pick up an extra student or two along there way fill the spare seat in the Tractor and get a few Euro off them for the owl Diesel like or better yet have a trailer with seats and seat belts and become a tractor bus lol. Parking might be even more of a nightmare then do lol.

Danzy

I was smiling at it, the tractor is worth more than the bus the rest of them are on

Jim_Hodge

And again.....What???

What now? Where was this?

Somebody drove a very very old one in when I was at school 20 years ago. But he lived a good bit out the country and it was transport an odd day.

AMKC

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119652488#Comment_119652488

Near Cork

Ginger83

They might as well sure there's no money in farming

TheValeyard

Seen students bring tractors to schools in Mayo and Galway. Been happening for years.

Also know a principal who got mad at one lad because he parked it arseways.

SEPT 23 1989

100k tractor used for the school run?

get up the yard

Dufflecoat Fanny

The way things are going they'll be building stables in schools to shelter ponies the kids will need to get to school

AMKC

This is what they need,

https://m.alibaba.com/product/1600236119119/Electric-Tricycle-3-Wheel-Electric-2022.html?s=p&spm=a2706.onesight_ppc.0.0.7169YEG7YEG7iI

Perfect for the school run as long as its whitin 45km and they can charge it at the school.

freshpopcorn

This isn't a new thing, it being happening with years. A few lads go through a phase of driving tractors to school. Some even go to the Debs in them.

FishOnABike

They can get a tractor license at 16, need to wait until 17 for a car license. Might explain the reason it's a phase some go through.

ax530

Can you drive tractor on a provisional ? Presume can't be accompanied as only one seat.

Pissy Missy

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/2058264499/so-i-see-the-young-lads-down-south-are-now-bringing-the-tractors-to-school

That's nothing new, my brother used to drive the tractor to secondary school and I got collected in it from time to time

Atlantic Dawn

I'm sure their farm insurance covers them fully using the vehicle to go to school in 🤔

At a guess I'd say 5mpg in either of those tractors today would be generous, could have got a taxi cheaper, money to burn those lads have.

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119652488#Comment_119652488

Christ Iv just seen the tractors they arrived on, my mate drove an old rust bucket. Those kids have serious cash to play about like this.

Graces7

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119652724#Comment_119652724

Just what I NEED to get around here.. pity I cannot afford it... yearn... Cannot get further than the lane now...

zg3409

https://www.irishexaminer.com/news/munster/arid-40967168.html

https://www.carvibz.com/news/whistlindiesel-crusades-for-14yo-kid-who-drove-tractor-to-school-and-had-it-impounded-by-police/

In USA too

shalom

To me the main point of this, is that he has always had a place on the School bus and this year there wasn't any place for him. To me that is the main part. What changed that he couldn't get a seat on the bus?

Man Vs ManUre

Put a trailer on it and you can fit another 20 or 30 students. No need for the bus at all.

John_Rambo

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119653827#Comment_119653827

That's a disgrace. School buses are for the kids of farmers and people connected to the land and these two lads don't get a place on the bus?

bad2thebone

The Massey is classy but the zettors are better....

JustJoe7240

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119653860#Comment_119653860

What changed was the government introduced free transport for post primary students. People that wouldn't have paid for transport before now would now be competing for a fixed no. of seats. They're not bringing the tractors just for the sake of it.

AMKC

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119653860#Comment_119653860

Free school Transport meant everyone wanted to get their children on the buses and there was just not enough seats that and bad planning from the Education Minister for it as well as little notice to the Transport companies to do it.

whisky_galore

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119652724#Comment_119652724

Can't go spreading slurry with it though.

Squeeonline

F* your Honda Civic, I've a Deere outside...

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119653275#Comment_119653275

You think they're driving their own tractors?

Haven't seen it myself but someone told me about lads driving them in and then parking them so the hitch was almost touching each other.

That was the late 90s I suppose.

whisky_galore

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119654361#Comment_119654361

Throwing out 'free' stuff without putting any thought into it. Utter shambles.

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119654361#Comment_119654361

Who could have forseen such a result? (Sarcasm)

amacca

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119652724#Comment_119652724

You can buy bloody bicycles at 10 times that price or many multiples more

I see lads regularly cycling 10k worth with bellies hanging out over the cycling shorts wedged on them

That "car" seems like a massive bargain 👌

amacca

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119654361#Comment_119654361

All so they could make another big splash announcement....

Del2005

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119654361#Comment_119654361

The transport companies can't get drivers for regular routes no idea where they thought all the extra drivers were to do school runs. No one is going to work a few hours in the morning and another few hours in the evening, even the catering industry moved from split shifts to try and get staff.

Pussyhands

Some tractors they're driving! It's no Massey 165 they're driving. These lads try and act like they're sad about the bus thing but they're loving it showing up as the big men.

"it's costing me extra on diesel now while others go for free"...he's not paying for the diesel. 🤣

What I couldn't believe is that the school is 34km away?

lawrencesummers

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119653860#Comment_119653860

What changed?

The answer to that is simple on two fronts.

Norma Foley.

AMKC

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119654727#Comment_119654727

They are and they come with leather seats , seatbelts, electric windows, a radio, a rear view camera and a roof too some even have a sunroof.

Much better than a bloody cycling bike unless you need the exercise lol.

shalom

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119654361#Comment_119654361

Yes, free school transport for all, so why was he kicked off the system when he was already on it?

EOQRTL

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119654770#Comment_119654770

Mentioned this in another thread but the transport contractors approached Bus Eireann about the driver shortage last Xmas and warned them of the coming mess this September BEFORE the free places announcement. Now either Bus Eireann completely forgot to tell the minister in charge or they did and she's telling fibs. One company i know of has a total of 22 buses and school running boards and only 15 drivers for this term so that's 7 buses sitting in yard idle.

Also the suggestion was made to Bus Eireann to let contractors use smaller mini buses with 8 seats to take pressure off the system this term as a stop gap and hire B licence drivers of which there are obviously more and this was rejected out of hand.

A better approach would have been to pay the drivers a decent wage for the split shift inconvenience to lure more into staying or coming back into the industry instead of offering free places which has been a disaster. 300-350 euro a week for a job with that responsibility is absolutely ridiculous and on top of that drivers have to pay for their own ongoing training with the CPC nonsense.

griffin100

A good few of my sons mates take / used to take tractors to school and it’s been a thing in his school for a few years. They are not allowed to park on school grounds and so park in some open space beside the school. They also drive them to GAA abs rugby training.

Most of the tractors are old but the lads keep them well, they’re freshly painted and dolled up with lights, stickers, etc. One lad does taken a massive year old John Deere yoke everywhere (its enormous) but he comes from a well off farming family that own huge amounts of land and have quite a few of these big new tractors.

Now that they’re hitting 17 most are moving to cars, but there’s a few die hard farming lads who still use the tractors.

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119656815#Comment_119656815

Same here in Tipp for years. Girls as well as guys! They all seem to take pride in their tractors and know how they work, which a lot of car drivers never do!

amacca

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119655841#Comment_119655841

The regs around a lot of things are starting to leave the realm of common sense...

Kenny Chesney - She Thinks My Tractor's Sexy

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uWu4aynBK7E

He will be for ever known as 'Tractor' around the village or town and when he drops dead aged 85 after coming in from walking the top field to check the fence, his RIP will say...the death has taken place of Tom Tractor Ryan.

Fallout2022

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119652852#Comment_119652852

to the Debs

That must be a harrowing experience.