Should schooldchildren over the age of 12 be allowed to ride a bus to school?

In light of the disaster of humanity witnessed the Karen Klein video, coupled with a 2005 study from the Journal of School Violence reported that two incidents of bullying occurred for every bus ride they monitored, I couldn't help but wonder that the school bus is a system that does more harm than good.  So I asked myself, should any school student over the age of 12, excluding a disability, be allowed the opportunity to ride a bus to and from school every day?

Is it finally time to send this Levithian machine to the scrap yard?

Perhaps because I come from such an anti-bus prejudice, my opinion should be discounted. Then again, perhaps I'm on to something. Throughout the the 20th century, the bus has been perhaps the lowest form of human transportation imaginable. Why? Because buses are load. They smell awful. They emit noxious diesel fumes that can cause difficulty breathing, and even ultimately lead to heart attacks and/or cancer. When I was in high school, I couldn't help but think that my local board of education was sending me a mixed message when they drilled into each and every student that cigarettes were bad for you, and then lined up a dozen of these diesel beasts and idled them for about an hour at the front entrance of our school. Whether or not you took the bus, or were simply walking to track and field practice, like I did every day, you were stuck breathing that sticky, smelly crud into your lungs.

Then there's Global Warming. When I was in second grade back in good ol'e 1992, I was inspired by my public teachers, by ubiquitous Public Service Announcements, and all those books flying off the shelves that gave YOU simple instructions on how to help the environment. That's right. YOU. Not "them," those nameless, faceless engineers, CEO's, politicians and government bureaucrats. This cadre of clowns had failed to resolve the environmental crisis that they had collectively created, but all of us, the little people, working to together, could solve these problems. (Said book has since been updated and is available here on Amazon)Yes, I'll say it again: it was inspiring. What message does the public school send when a public school touts the message of environmental urgency, and then facilitates those who are perfectly physically capable of moving around on their own means, to partake in an activity that could potentially destroy human civilization as we know it?

Maybe one should ride a horse if they need to get to school?

Maybe I'm being over the top. Maybe. Then again, maybe I'm concerned also about this generation's obesity crisis. The last half-century has seen the number of children who ride their bikes to school drop dramatically, and this drop has seen an almost equal rate in rise of childhood obesity. In 1964 50% of kids rode to school and the obesity rate was 12%. In 2004, 3% rode to school and the obesity rate was 45%. 

With technology like this, your child will never be late again!

 This blog post may not bring about the overnight change I'd like to see in public policy, but it's definitely inspired me to go out recommend that my uncle get a Trek 7.2 Fx for my cousin as a sweet 16 birthday present, and also remind my sister that her recently-turned 10 year-old is due for a larger bike this season.

What do you think? Have I gone of the rails? Should kids ride their bikes to school and listen to records instead of Ipods like in 1964? Should we keep loading them on the bus and hope they aren't on the receiving end of the relentless taunting? Or perhaps an ultra-futuristic personal jet pack is the solution to get our kids to and from school ever day.

Your thoughts?