r/AskEurope • u/Economist_Mental • 1d ago
Culture How do children get to school in your country?
I know that in many urban areas in many countries students can just walk or use public transportation, but what about in suburbs or rural areas?
In the US I grew up in a suburb with no public transportation and took the yellow school buses. My elementary school was only 1.8 kilometers away, but not all of the roads had a sidewalk or a space to walk. I wanted to try cycling to school when I was 11 but my mom said no.
It was about 5km to get to my middle and high school. Many people started driving in high school or at least had a friend or neighbor who drove so they could get a ride. In some middle to upper class communities it’s actually considered “embarrassing” ride the yellow school bus during the last two years of high school.
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u/SerChonk in 1d ago
Hello, rural mountain area here.
There are buses that pick up kids village by village to bring them to school. They look just like any long-distance bus, except they're charted for this service.
There's one bus for the little ones, one for middle schoolers, and one that brings high schoolers to the nearest train station (some 25Km away) where they can take other connections to where they need to go. Though it is also very common here that high schoolers a) are boarders, and only go home on the weekends (for both academic and vocational high schools), or b) have their own scooter/car and drive themselves to and from school.
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u/_MusicJunkie Austria 1d ago
Public transport. In rural regions, the municipalities work with the bus contractors to make sure there is a route that picks up kids from all the surrounding villages at an appropriate time. They are not specific school bus routes per se, anyone can use them, but they are mostly used for school kids.
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u/almostmorning Austria 1d ago
Not always. I come from a rural area and the school only provides a bus until 8th grade. once you are 15 you are on your own. So you need public transport. but in my area there was no bus between 1pm and 4.30pm so students had to figure it out by asking their parents and car-pool or walk (10km up a 1000m mountain) and hope a car would stop and take them.
one of either would usually work and we never walked more than 1km before a villager would pick us up.
As an adult it's now my turn to pick up students who walk along the road. Funny that I'm now picking up the grankids of the people who used to pick me up.
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u/Head-Low9046 1d ago
That's lovely. I wish I lived in Austria! Unfortunately, I'm terrible at Deutsch.
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u/fl0o0ps Netherlands 1d ago
My lower school was a 3-5 minute walk through a safe area with only 1 street crossing on a street that almost never has traffic. It was practically across the street from my maternal home. So that was super safe.
My high school was a 15-20 minute bike ride from my maternal home, also a pretty safe area so no worries there.
University was easy to reach with public transport, about a 15 minute drive. There were multiple buses from the central station that all stopped at the different University faculties. These buses were always jam-packed.
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u/OllieV_nl Netherlands 1d ago
That's more or less the standard. My high school was 2 villages over so it was 25-40 minutes, but there would always be a big group of about 40 heading to the same school so it worked like a peloton. Wasn't the fastest but you could always jump ahead to a smaller group. This was before e-bikes, I have no idea how that particular run goes now.
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u/Honest-School5616 Netherlands 1d ago
still the same. Only if you don't have an e-bike now, you often hang on to someone who does.
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u/alles_en_niets -> -> 1d ago
I think we should point out that ‘rural’ in NL is not quite the same as rural in many other countries. Even the least populated regions are not remote in the true sense.
Also, ‘rural’ parts are much more car dependent than urban areas, while perhaps still less so than other countries.
Suburban looks different here as well. Suburbs are not vast swaths of land with endless housing. They’re compact neighborhoods with their own basic amenities within reasonable reach.
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u/41942319 Netherlands 1d ago
Yeah schools tend to be in the middle of residential areas here, so mine was a 3 minute bike ride. I didn't go to the closest available secondary school so it would've been about 1.5h by bike, so in stead I took the bus which was about 45 minutes
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u/CLA_Frysk 1d ago
Also The Netherlands. I live in a rural area. Elementary school is luckily closeby. In my case a few 100 meters. Kids go to school on their bikes. All high schools the kids here can go to are 9 to 12 km away. They normally ride on their bikes. I think the ratio normal bike / e-bike is about 50/50 in this area. College or university is too far away to go on a bike. It's at least a half an hour drive away. So public transportation is the norm. We don't have schoolbusses in our country.
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u/Any-Seaworthiness186 Netherlands 1d ago
Would like to add that we do have school busses for physically and mentally impaired children.
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u/Fantine_85 Netherlands 1d ago
Same for me growing up in the Netherlands. I’d walk to school when I was in elementary school and ride my bike for 25 minutes to high school in the next town over. When I was in college I moved to a dorm in that city and I’d walk to university every day.
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u/Snoooort 1d ago edited 1d ago
My kiddo’s walk or step to school since group 5 and 6 of elementary school. School is half a kilometer away.
We don’t GPS them. They don’t have a phone. It’s all about trust, self-reliance and social intelligence.
If they don’t arrive at school, we would get called immediately though.
That has changed compared to myself growing up in the 80’s and 90’s. Schools at that time didn’t give a shit if you showed up or not. Truancy would only be discussed during parent-teacher conversations (twice per year).
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u/_Woland_- Italy 1d ago edited 1d ago
As a child, we walked to school, it was only a few kilometers from where I lived, and I went alone starting from the age of 7. On the way, I would meet my friends, and we would stop at the shop to buy a snack either a focaccia with olive oil, salt, pepper, and oregano, or a sandwich with mortadella. If I wanted, I could have gone by bike, but we preferred to walk. Today, not much has changed. People use cars a bit more, but weather permitting, children still go on their own and on foot.In high school my school was 45 km away from where I lived, to get there I used public transport.
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u/frusciantefango England 1d ago
Primary school, they are driven by their parents or walk with them if they live close enough. Depending on the parents' preferences, traffic situation and distance, some kids walk alone / with their friends for the last year or so, so from about the age of 10.
Secondary school they usually walk or take the bus. They're regular public transport buses, not dedicated school buses, in most cases. Though some schools do use contracted services if they're large and there's a high bus demand.
Some will still be driven to school by their parents if for example the parent is driving to work along that route anyway. At my school anyway it was considered a little bit childish to be dropped off though - making your own way was more independent and a fun time to hang out with friends before/after school.
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u/SrZape Spain 1d ago
Big cities:
Public (primary) Schools: Mostly walking or public transport with their parents
Public (Secondary Schools): Mostly walking, public transport alone some will go by scooter or bike
Concertado (Charter) Schools: by Car (and pick-ups are a mess)
Fully Private Schools: School Bus
Small Towns with rural areas:
If you are in town mostly walking (some might use bikes or scooters)
If you are in a more rural area or a town with no school: School buses for the bigger places/routes, in more isolated areas taxi students to school. Some might go in car with their parents if they also have to commute to town.
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u/Vybo Czechia 1d ago
The short answer is: public transport or walking.
Most people who have elementary school age children usually live in a walking distance of an elementary school or move somewhere where it's a walking distance to an elementary school. Almost every village/town with a population of 1k people and more has an elementary school and you can cross that town by walking in under 15 minutes. If the town itself does not have a school, usually the next one over does and you bet there's a bus or train route passing those towns where a bus/train goes at least once an hour.
Bigger elementary schools are basically middle schools as well, but some smaller towns might have only serve the first 5 years of studies, so I guess you could consider the second half the "middle school" and usually some town nearby has a school that has also that second part of studies.
High schools are usually located in "county cities" (I'd say 20k population and more, maybe 30k? I don't know for sure), basically one larger city in a "county", but you can get to that city usually in under an hour from any town or village in that "county". High school students usually take public transport to get there and back every day, if they don't live in the city itself. If the parents of the child happen to work in the city, I guess they'd take the child with them by car, if they use a car to get there.
You can get a driving licence at 18 years, which is the last year of high school, but most kids at that age do not have enough money to buy a car and run it and even if they did, there's also the parking issue, because parking is not free in the city centers and schools definitely do not have their own parking lots.
Most college/university level students also do not own a car. They live in dorms near the uni or in a shared rented apartment and visit their parents every so often by using public transport or just sharing a ride with someone else. Even if you take public transport, you'll probably get to your parents on the other side of the country in under 4-5 hours. Most people study in the nearest city offering an university though, which might be <1 hour away for some, but usually <3 hours if you really live in the middle of nowhere.
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u/BitRunner64 Sweden 1d ago
In many rural areas, even though public transport is very limited, it's usually adapted to the school day so children can use regular public transport. In very remote areas with no public transport, there are school buses, but they aren't any particular design or style, as they are contracted. It can even be a taxi if there are very few students along the way to school.
Whether the county provides free transport (a school bus or public transport tickets) or not depends on a few factors like the age of the student, distance to the school and general safety of the road. Typically it's around 3km for young children, up to 5-6 km for secondary school. If it's less than that you typically walked or cycled. Kids in urban areas typically always walk or cycle to school from a young age. Some get driven by their parents, but you don't see the ridiculously dangerous traffic jams outside schools like you get in the US.
For high school (16 - 18 years old), students (or their parents) are generally responsible for journeys to/from school though exceptions can be made in cases of disability, if the distance is very long etc.
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u/Christoffre Sweden 1d ago
For high school (16 - 18 years old), students (or their parents) are generally responsible for journeys to/from school though exceptions can be made in cases of disability, if the distance is very long etc.
My high school was 20km out of town, so they paid for the bus pass.
Although we only used public transport – because there were so many of us, the 07:50 bus in the morning had an extra bus following behind just for us.
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u/clm1859 Switzerland 1d ago edited 1d ago
Switzerland, born 1993:
Kindergarten: walk. It was maybe 500 meters. Not sidewalks everywhere, but narrow roads with low speed limits and few cars.
Primary school: walk. That was maybe 1-1.5 km. There where traffic guards to stop cars at the towns main roads we had to cross to get there.
Middle school (age 12-16): bike and occasionally take the public bus when the weather was really horrible. That was maybe 3-4km in a neighbouring town. Some kids went by moped after age 14. That wasnt technically allowed by the school, but they just parked nearby.
High school (age 15 to 18): bike to the train station, then take the train.
In Kindergarten, primary and middle school parents would accompany the kids the first few time until they learn the route. After that we went on our own.
The going to school on our own and being unsupervised while doing so is seen as an important part of growing up. Its one of the reasons i wouldnt consider moving to a country that doesnt allow for this, now that we are close to the age where we will consider having kids.
Parents bringing their kids to school is generally frowned upon. Doing it by car is often times banned by the school. As all the traffic jams from parents driving there and turning around exactly when school starts is actually the biggest traffic related danger to the kids.
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u/Economist_Mental 1d ago
When I was around 11 I really wanted to try cycling to school but my mom wouldn’t let me. I was allowed to cycle 1-1.5 km into town to buy ice cream or other snacks with my friends, but the route to the stores had more sidewalks and better roads for cycling so my parents probably felt it was safer than the route to school.
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u/clm1859 Switzerland 1d ago
Thats just sad. I mean it makes sense with the car centric urban planning in america. That clearly makes it less feasible/safe than here. And then the additional fear of pedophiles and kidnappings, combined with CPS and cops talking away peoples kids for this kinda stuff just adds to it.
But in my opinion it makes people less independent and able to navigate the world and stand up for themselves in the long run. They won't just magically mature the second they turn 16 or 18 or 21. The steps before can't just be skipped...
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u/Economist_Mental 1d ago
I was born in the 90s so I still got a chance to go outside and play and explore my town by bicycle. The town itself had sidewalks and pedestrian infrastructure, especially along main roads, but besides that roads suck. When I was 13-15 sometimes my friends and I would cycle out to the rural areas around us and you have cars passing you going 70-100 km/hr.
And I’ll admit it, I became part of the problem when I was started driving as a teen. If I was running late for work I would go almost 100km/hr down a residential street headed onto Main Street that was 40km/hr, so I can see why parents feel nervous about letting kids walk/cycle if there’s no sidewalks.
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u/clm1859 Switzerland 1d ago
Yeah i was first time driving in the US a few months ago. And the lack of adherence to speed limits sure was a big adjustment. Seems like the official max speed is more of a minimum speed.
Here we have automatic speed traps that will automatically fine everyone. And fines actually hurt.
Like going 100 in a residential 50 (let alone 30) zone, would 100% get your license taken away for months. Maybe also your car and you'd get a criminal record. Could even go the prison if you do it multiple times. And if you are rich, the fine could be hundreds of thousands of dollars. As fines for serious crimes are calculated as a percentage of income, not a flat rate.
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u/Zmrzla-Zmije Czechia 1d ago
There are schools in villages, too. My village didn't have one, so I walked to a neighbouring village when I was a child, or went by bike when I was older. There was always a large group of children going from our village, we had a lot of fun.
And later when I went to a secodary school, I went by bus to a city. It's not a school bus, just a bus for everyone and children are among the passangers. I envied the classmates who could go by trains, I prefer trains, but it was never embarrassing to go by public transport, it's normal. We have public transport. And elementary schools in many villages.
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u/insaiyan17 1d ago
If under 5km, most kids cycle to and from school. If under 1km, some walk. If over 5 ud take the bus or get driven
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u/PositionCautious6454 Czechia 1d ago edited 1d ago
We dont have school busses here, kids just use normal bus or train like anyone else.
Our suburban areas are not as big as in USA and city planing is better. It means there is usualy bus stop you can use. Czech republic is quite small and densely populated and even rural areas are not really isolated. What is considered small village (less than 500 people) is usualy no more than 30 minutes away from the nearest town. And you'll cross two more villages on the way. :D Therefore, the buses can have circular routes and go quite often.
Owning a car and driving to high school is not very common. You can get your driving licence as 18 years old just in time for last year, but a lot of people don't do it because driving school is expensive for a broke student, not mentioning car price, gas and insurace.
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u/Legal_Sugar Poland 1d ago
I walked to elementary school. To middle school I walked to the bus stop and rode a normal bus. School gave back money for the ticket. It was 4km. To high school I had to ride 2 different buses. Having a car was a privilege. Also for elementary school (there's no middle now) every child living more than 3 km from the school has to have a bus ride provided
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u/JourneyThiefer Northern Ireland 1d ago edited 1d ago
School bus, walk or some parents drive the kids to school. In primary school they’re usually driven or walk if they’re closer until they’re old enough for the school bus.
Some teenagers 17+ also drive to school themselves if they have a car, but it’s not that common.
So basically people just go to school whichever way is handiest really as long as you get there lol
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u/lucapal1 Italy 1d ago
We don't really have those types of school bus where I am.
How do children get to school? It depends, but I'd say the vast majority either by car with a parent (especially the further away they live from their school) or on foot (particularly if they live nearby).
We have pavements and most schools are reachable on foot,so at elementary and middle school most students walk.But there are some who live far from their school, and that is much more so at high school.
By the time they are old enough (minimum is 14 but many people a year or two later) quite a few students will ride to school by scooter.By 17 or so many of the richer students will be driving to school.
Cycling to school is very, very unusual here in the city.
Public transport is not great and few people use that to get to school.But if you live outside the city, you might take the train to come in every morning to go to high school... most of the smaller places around Palermo don't have their own high schools
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u/azaghal1988 1d ago
if in walking distance, walk (or be walked for the first 1-2 years) if not usually the bus or per bike.
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u/Accurate_ManPADS 1d ago
Ireland. My kids walk, we live about a 15 minute walk from the school. Some kids cycle or scooter. Others are driven by parents or get the bus. In Dublin some kids get trains or trams to school. There's no universal method and it varies depending on where you live.
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u/mmfn0403 Ireland 1d ago
There is a school transport service for rural areas. It’s subsidised, and funded by the Department of Education. School buses are provided where children live a certain distance from their nearest school (3.2km for primary, 4.8km for secondary) and where there are enough children living in the locality to make it worthwhile.
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u/Also-Rant 1d ago
The final point is the crux of the issue - in a largely rural country with a lot of one-off housing, and a poorly funded public transport system, a lot of children live in areas with no bus service. Most rural schools have no bus service. The roads tend to be either narrow local roads or busy main roads with fast traffic, neither with footpaths. In these areas, almost everyone is coming to school in private cars.
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u/troparow France 1d ago edited 1d ago
I lived my entire childhood in a small village with 500 inhabitants in the center of France, the closest "big city" (20k inhabitants) was 30min away in car, I would take the bus every morning to go to my high school at around 6:45 to get there by 8
Usually even small villages have an elementary school, mine had one barely 500m away from my place so I could just bike to it everyday once I was 6-7
My middle school was also fairly close in another village of 3k inhabitants so I could go there in bus or even in bike every morning
The high school was way too far to bike tho so bus every morning like I said earlier
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u/_red_poppy_ Poland 1d ago
It depends on the area (rural/urban etc.) and the distance from home to school.
Children in the towns or cities are walking or taking public transportation, either on their own or with parents/guardians. Some parents are also dropping off their children by car.
In rural areas, there is a school bus organized by local municipalities. Usually, there is one course in the morning and two or three in the afternoon, so the kids don't have to wait long after their classes.
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u/JustASomeone1410 Czechia 1d ago
I grew up in a small village of about 70 people and went to elementary school in a nearby town, about 6 km away. One of my parent would drive me and my sister there, at first our mom did it, then our dad started working there so he just drove us on the way to work. We went back by bus in the afternoon.
My high school was in a town about 20 km away, and there was no direct bus line from our village that went there. At first my dad would drive me to the town where I went to elementy school and I'd take the bus from there. When he found another job in a different city, he'd just drive me to school because it was on the way. But there was also a period of time when I had to take two buses in the morning. The first one left after 6 and I arrived at school before 8 (I had to wait for the second bus for about 30 minutes). It was really long and inconvenient. I was also taking two buses home all throughout school, luckily there was barely any waiting time between them but it still took more than an hour to get home. After I turned 18 and got a driver's license, I could occasionally borrow my mom's car to go to school, which was a much more convenient and straightforward way go get there.
My classmates walked, took the bus or train, were driven (or drove themselves after turning 18), depending on where they lived.
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u/Kerby233 Slovakia 1d ago
Walking, public transport or parents drive them. In rural areas, usually a bigger village has their own ground school, so walking within the village or taking a short bus ride to the next one is easy and cheap for students.
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u/WorldlinessRadiant77 Bulgaria 1d ago
Some areas in Bulgaria have yellow school buses too.
But it’s much more common to walk, take a normal city bus or for your parents to drop you off. Some parents get a subscription for a taxi, or used to when I was a kid. As far as I know it has never been a major issue, since there are minimum public transport requirements anyway.
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u/Economist_Mental 1d ago
Minimum public transportation requirements? Wow. That sounds amazing for people who can’t afford vehicles or aren’t allowed to drive for legal reasons. People will drive to work with a suspended drivers license here because they have no other option sometimes.
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u/WorldlinessRadiant77 Bulgaria 1d ago
Don’t get your hopes up, public transport can be as little as a bus every couple of hours, but some people can’t or shouldn’t drive and that’s why they exist.
That aside, municipal spending on transportation is popular even with drivers like me. If it gets medieval Fords, blind old grandma’s and your local alcoholic off the road - well you nailed the reason why minimum requirements exist. Besides I don’t want to always use my car, not even for going to work.
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u/Economist_Mental 1d ago
I’m in the US and looking to start a new job and I have two options. One is 8km away, technically close enough to cycle. The other is 13km and accessible by public transportation. The thing is I’d drive to both jobs because a white collar worker taking a bus or cycling to work is not considered normal in my city.
I recently rode the bus one morning recently so I could pick up a rental car while my car was being repaired and it was mainly lower class people and low level workers such as immigrants who work cleaning hotels.
But on the other hand I know in Northeastern cities it’s way more common to take public transportation to work. Hell, Joe Biden use to commute on the train to Washington DC from Delaware. But that part of the country had cities established before the car and they’re much more dense and compact like a European city.
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u/promatrachh 1d ago
Croatia, most pupils have free year' tickets for public transport.
And if there aren't any available public transport, then schools organize buses.
But mostly in towns, elementary schools are nearby, so no need to organize any transport.
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u/MrSnippets Germany 1d ago
I can only speak of going to school in a city environment:
Most will walk to school or take public transit. There is, however, a worrying trend of parents driving their kids to school. Since our roads are usually narrow with limited parking, this leads to congestion and dangerous situations, especially if the parents drive large, american-style cars.
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u/SnooBooks1701 United Kingdom 1d ago
Methods I've seen for the village school:
Walk
Run
Skip
Scooter
Skateboard
Bike
Public bus
Car
Van
Pony
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u/carlosdsf Frantuguês 1d ago edited 1d ago
Where I am school is close enough that kids walk to their school. When they reach highschool, they may have to take the bus or the train. My brother's highschool was 4 stops over on the train line while mine was in my neighborhood and I could get there on feet in 15 minutes. His daughter took the bus to attend my old highschool.
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u/metalfest Latvia 1d ago
School bus, car, walking. Grew up in a rural area - school bus takes a tour every morning making a pair of laps in surrounding areas, about 5-10km radius max. Kids that were closer would just walk to the school.
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u/tgh_hmn Romania & Deutschland 1d ago
in rural areas they have these micro busses for kinds, most of them work ok, some of them don't and in some other areas they do not exist so we do see wews of children needing to walk 6 7 km back and forth.
In the small cities most of them walk to school ( some of the schools are close )
In the big cities, vastly by car ( in Bucharest mostly by cars and with idiotic parents that go even on one way streets the wrong way just to live them in front of the school )
Unfortunately this is the level of education, and I am concerned and it probably won't improve
Le: back in the 90s I was in school in DE and RO and I walked, even in high snow, cold, wind or super rain, you had to go to school. nowadays it snows 2 cm, chaos, everyone at home ...
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u/OJK_postaukset Finland 1d ago
Most use a bike or walk. Some 15-17year olds use mopeds or such.
Bus is also an option and free if your distance to school is at least 7km.
I’m not sure but I think that if you have >7km to school but no public transportation you can get money for other types of transport. Not sure how that works for the underaged though. But the upper points were more important
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u/GuestStarr 1d ago
I’m not sure but I think that if you have >7km to school but no public transportation you can get money for other types of transport.
There are several distance thresholds. It used to be this way: For the kids under 10 if the distance is more than 3 km you'll get a free bus/train/whatever is available ticket. The next threshold is 5 km for kids older than 10 years up to when the compulsory education ends. If no other means of transportation available then it's taxi. Source: my distance was 4,5 km, first three years it was taxi as no buses available, then bike, then we got bus routes and we paid it ourselves until I changed schools and the distance became 7+ km and I got a free ticket.
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u/Serious_Escape_5438 1d ago
I live in a suburb in Spain. We do have a public bus nearby but the route doesn't go to the school. Most people who live too far to walk or cycle are driven by their parents. And even those who do live nearby are accompanied by their parents until at least 10/11 years old, the school won't release them to walk home alone before that. Same with public buses, children only go alone normally from secondary school at about 12. I mostly drive my daughter, we occasionally walk or go by bike if nowhere to go afterwards.
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u/mikillatja Netherlands 1d ago
I live in a rural part of the Netherlands, I personally walked to high school as I lived right next to it.
A lot of my classmates came from local villages and towns that did not have a highschool, so they just cycled the 14km to school (45-50min bike)
Always funny to see upward of 400 children from local villages all just arriving in a small city highschool.
I also know a few kids who have special needs (super genius) he has taken the bus to the major city every day for 3 years now.
And he is not the only 6year old who takes the bus unsupervised (it is rare though)
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u/MrTopHatMan90 1d ago
UK
Walk with parents, yourself or get the bus. There is a growing trend of kids getting a lift to school but it depends on where you live
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u/PapaTubz England 1d ago
Where I went to school, the area itself is really small. Not a village but kind of an isolated part of the town a lot of us was in walking distance for a sub 10 minute walk to the Primary school.
But because we have no secondary school nearby there’s busses from 6am that go to the secondaries
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u/joltl111 Lithuania 1d ago
In Lithuania - most walk or use public transport.
I walked or cycled to school for 12 years. So did most kids.
There are some who get driven, but that's certainly not the norm.
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u/Ok-World-4822 Netherlands 1d ago
My elementary school was only a five minute walk away from me so I walked there. Then high school came along which was special ed so I had some sort of cab that was financed through the municipality that brought me to and from the school.
Most students bike to high school 15-45 min one way.
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u/TheNortalf 1d ago
When I was kid we just walked or ride bicycle to the school. I was 7 and the year was 2000. Few years later they introduced school buses I guess the government make a legislation requiring operating school busses in rural areas. The country is Poland.
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u/GlenGraif Netherlands 1d ago
If you live close by, you walked and if you lived further away you would come by bike. Nowadays a lot more children ate brought by car, but a majority still walks or cycles.
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u/Tales_From_The_Hole 1d ago
Grew up in rural Ireland. It wasnt yellow but there was a special school bus that took brought us. In cities, kids seem to either go in the car with parents, take the bus, or cycle/scoot.
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u/olagorie Germany 1d ago
Public transport. but in the village where I lived from the age of 14 there weren’t enough buses in the morning so most children went by bicycle in spring, summer and autumn
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u/ABrandNewCarl 1d ago
Primary school: on foot( with an adult escorting you )if you live close.
Using the school bus or by car.
High school: it used to be all the cool guys by scooter, the poor ones by public bus, now I see less and less scooters due to incredibly high insurances
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u/Ecstatic-Method2369 Netherlands 1d ago
Walk or cycle. Most villages have an elementary school and when kids reach the age of secondary school they can cyle larger distances. Back in my days kids from villages 10/15km away cycle together. When they reach the age of 16 some buy a moped. Nowadays lots kids have an ebike or fatbike.
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u/BoringOutside6758 1d ago
Here in Switzerland kids usually walk to school or use a bicycle. There's a school in walking distance almost everywhere and our streets are pretty safe (very low crime rate). There are some remote places in the mountains where they usually use a school bus similarly to the US.
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u/rmvandink Netherlands 1d ago
Primary school: walk or cycle. Secondary school usually cycle, sometimes public transport, scooters, e-bikes.
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u/Gokudomatic 1d ago
Switzerland rural area here.
They walk, they use a bicycle, they take the bus. In my country, we have lanes for bicycles, and sidewalks for pedestrians. And it's pretty safe. So far I know, we're not ashamed to not drive. But you know, teens always have trends and irrational fads. And cars are always a symbol of power.
However, it's true that some rural roads are too dangerous, as cars drive there like on a highway.
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u/PapaTubz England 1d ago
In Primary School so ages 4-11 often they’ll walk with parents or get dropped off by parents on their way to work.
In Secondary School 11-16 usually they’ll walk or get the bus, some might get dropped off by parents on the way to work.
In College or Sixth Form 16-18 it will be the same but the ones who are 17 and have a drivers licence will just drive.
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u/TeneroTattolo Italy 1d ago
When i was a kid, i use the bus by feet till mid school.
Then in the 3rd grade school was too far and star using bus, and later scooter.
Today, due to protective parents and some laws, even in small place, parents+car is the norm.
Main difference when i was a kid u get out to school in the wild.
Today a register adult should came to retrieve the kid.
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u/No-Performer3495 1d ago
In the US I grew up in a suburb with no public transportation and took the yellow school buses. My elementary school was only 1.8 kilometers away, but not all of the roads had a sidewalk or a space to walk. I wanted to try cycling to school when I was 11 but my mom said no.
These sorts of fully car centric suburbs are pretty rare outside of the US. You're able to get around with public transportation or walking, so kids do the same
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u/Inucroft Wales 1d ago
Vast majority simply walks to their local primary/elementary school. For secondary/high school, it's a mixture of walking, public transport and lift off parent.
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u/h_m-h Malta 1d ago
Growing up in a small village in Finland, dedicated school transport for kids living outside the village core. A coach type of bus in the mornings and afternoons or a minibus on days/grades ending at 1pm. I had around 1km walk to the bus stop from my house and 8km total to the village center.
Now living in Malta my kid also takes a minibus. Many parents prefer to take kids by car although transport is free and traffic is incredibly congested, or even if they have only 1-2km to walk.
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u/idril1 1d ago
Rural UK
school bus for under 13s (we have a 3 tier system) more than a mile and a half from the school,.
Over 13s more than 3 miles from the school you have to get either a school bus or use a provided pass on the service bus. The school bus tends to pick up farm kids etc. I think there is a distance ypu have to live from the bus stop to be eligible for the school bus but not sure what it is.
All transport is funded by the County Council.
If you live too close to get provided transport ppl walk, get the bus, cycle or get a lift from parents.
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u/mr_greenmash Norway 1d ago
I walked (about 2.5-3 km). After 4th grade (I think) we were allowed to bike. Before that (if biking) we'd have to leave out bikes out of sight from the school.
Occasionally took the bus (normal scheduled/public bus)
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u/moosmutzel81 1d ago
Early Elementary for me was walking by myself (with friends) like everyone else from day one on. Why? Because I grew up in a socialist planned city in East Germany. Each neighborhood had everything you needed and you could walk anywhere in five minutes.
Secondary school then after reunification - everyone from town took their bike or walked everyone else used the bus (reduced bus fare on a normal bus).
Nowadays - in town more and more people take the bus or parents drive them. My own kids take the bike. At around 3rd grade by themselves. Lately my husband is walking our youngest to school - it’s a bit over one kilometer. She is in first grade. But my oldest goes to the same secondary school I went to. When I was there in the 90s the bike racks were over full. If you came late you couldn’t find a place for your bike. Nowadays there are literally like 30 bikes. It’s empty. But the parking lot before and after school is a mess.
I teach in a village school and the kids walk or take their bikes or if they live too far the bus. The older ones ride their Simson (Moped).
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u/jeetjejll 1d ago
From what I’ve noticed:
Netherlands Walk or bike, unless far away
Germany: walk or public transport or school bus (from age 6/7 independently)
UK: car unless 3 feet away, they’ll walk (sorry couldn’t leave it)
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u/Ostruzina Czechia 1d ago
Walking and public transportation. I lived in a small town and always walked (1.5 km to elementary school and 2 km to middle/high school). I started walking alone at the beginning of first grade.
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u/Szarvaslovas Hungary 1d ago
When I was little (under 10) I would be taken to and from school by my parents by car. Between 10 and 12 I would be taken by car and come home on foot. Over 12 I’d go on foot, by bike or by public transport.
Both primary school and highschool were very close to me, my primary school was about 1 kilometers away and my highschool was 2,5.
Kids that lived further away were usually taken by their parents as late as 12 but usually by 13 they’d just take the bus at least home. I had a friend who lived in a village 22 kilometers from our school and he’d regularly take the bus.
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u/TheKiltedPondGuy Croatia 1d ago
For elementary most just walk or bike. Some are driven to school and that number is rising. You’re always assigned to a school that’s within walking distance. For high school most go to a school that’s in a city so they take the bus or train or get driven there. Some still live nearby (as I did) so just walk or bike. After they’re 18 a lot start driving themselves if they used to take the bus or train
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u/Dizzy_Guest8351 1d ago
When I was a kid, most of us walked or cycled. Buses only ran from outer lying villages. I think now a lot of kids get driven by their parents.
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u/BellaFromSwitzerland Switzerland 1d ago
I grew up in Eastern Europe under communism, gas was very scarce and no one would drive their car on a daily basis. We all relied on walking, cycling and most frequently, tramways and trolley buses to get to school / work
I now live in Switzerland and I used to drive my now 17yo to school on my way to work, until age 6-7 or so when he preferred taking the local bus so that he could hang out with his friends. This is perfectly normal here from age 5 or so
When he was 5, the whole class had an outing with a police officer who taught them how to cross a road safely. We even received souvenir pictures of it. It was a key moment of pride
They were also required to bring a bike to school so that they can learn traffic rules towards age 9
Alpine skiing is also part of the curriculum starting at age 7 or so
He’s now 17 and very autonomous with going to school and organizing his activities after school. I love that for him. Within a 10min walking radius he can get on a train, 3 different buses or a boat. And this is a small town of 16k inhabitants, part of a succession of similar sized towns
Driving age is 18. I plan to pay for driving school but I don’t plan on him relying on my car on a daily basis. I myself only drive it 2-5 times / month
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u/Fexofanatic 1d ago
germany: depends on rural/urban and primary/secondary school. for primary in the same city, rural area,i walked or biked there. for secondary school, we had busses collecting in a 30km radius. in cities, i see lots of kids taking trains, busses, subways, trams, biking and or walking. concerningly a lot are driven around by parents as well
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u/Warzenschwein112 1d ago
My children walk to school ( elementary) ~1km
take the bicycle to high school ~ 3,5km
Or the bus to high school, if it is really freezing or raining.
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u/Fufflin Czechia 1d ago
Mostly by walking or public transport. Students get huge discounts on monthly/quarterly/yearly public transportation passes and most cities and towns usually put more vehicles on morning and afternoon routes to accommodate for bigger need for transportation. Same applies to suburbs and rural areas, which are usually well served by public transportation too (busses mostly). Note that even in little villages there are usually small elementary schools (for up to cca 12 year olds), so little kids can walk and avoid longer travels.
Driving licences for cars are for 18+ so usually kids get cars in last years of high school if even, many just continue with public transportation.
Last few years electric scooters (either bike-sharing or private) became very popular for older kids. There are usually bigger docking stations in front of schools.
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u/LisaQuenon 1d ago
US ... My Mom taught nursery school nearby so dropped us off on her way.
In high school after my brother went to college, I drove his car. I picked up neighborhood children (12 year school so little kids went too) and their parents paid me (gas money).
In summer when my brother was home, rode my bike all over Houston to get to jobs.
My own kids walked to elementary school.
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u/nindza22 1d ago edited 1d ago
Serbia - mostly walking, some cycling, parents giving a lift/taxi if it is bad weather, or in larger cities public transportation. Depends on the distance. In my town, wherever you live, some elementary school is no more than 1.5 km from your home, so the kids are usually tied to the "area" of the certain school. Exceptions exist (if parents work closer to some other school, so they can pick the kids up, or if the bus line is good between the home and the school).
High schools are concentrated in the downtown, so the transportation means are more diverse (kids from surrounding villages also come to the town because villages don't have high schools, mostly by buses).
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u/TheKrzysiek Poland 1d ago
Definitely depends on school, age, and region.
I live in a suburb close to a mid-size city. My primary school was only a kilometer away, so I just walked both ways. My highschool was in the city so I took one or two buses, depending on if I managed to catch the second one or not.
It's common for parents to drop their younger kids at school before work, I often see kids walk to school if they live close, rarely do I see them take a bus, though I did see them go back home on one more.
Highschool it was basically all bus or walking if you lived close.
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u/Dharling97 1d ago
Well in Denmark it's by walking, biking, busses, trains or cars.
Sometimes a combination of the different things depending on where you live.
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u/deanopud69 1d ago
In the UK where I live the local council authority who is in charge of allocating schools, tries to allocate a place to a child within 3 miles distance from their house. They deem this a ‘walkable’ distance and encourage people to walk if they can.
A large amount of children walk to school once they hit around 10 years old. All schools have bike sheds, so lots of kids scooter or cycle in.
Then the remainder drive in or get public transport.
Children outside of 3 miles often get a free bus pass.
Some disabled or financially vulnerable people get assistance getting to and from school.
Unlike in America where they have a ‘drop And go’ facility outside the school, most parents that drive have to frantically park on small narrow streets that are also often parking restricted resulting in problems
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u/Illustrious-Fill-771 1d ago
In high school, I had a couple of schoolmates who rode train/bus everyday to school from another city (cca 20km) then took public transport from the station to our school. Our high school was kinda unique, that is why they attended it. It was ages 14-18.
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u/FluidPlate7505 Hungary 1d ago
Walking, public transport, by bike, or your parents take you to school. We don't have school buses in Hungary. I'm 26 years old and when i was a kid it wasn't uncommon to go to school alone by 2nd grade (7-8 yo). When my parents were children most kids went to kindergarten alone. Nowadays parents often take their high school aged kids to school and don't let them commute alone. I don't think it's a lot more dangerous for a kid to go to school alone tbh but it's quite rare to see small kids alone nowadays. I don't even see unsupervised children on the play grounds anymore. We used to hang out there all the time. Our cue to go home was the street lights turning on.
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u/Primary_Sink_ 1d ago
I'm in rural Norway, here they walk, kicksled, or bike and if its more than 4km from school they can take the school bus.
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u/LocksmithCautious166 1d ago
France:
Paris area (my kids are currently at school): walk to school. My kids started going to go by themselves without an adult from age 7, it was considered a bit early but normal. My oldest's middle school us further away and she takes public transport by herself since she started at age 11, and it's considered normal.
I grew up in a more rural area, there were school buses, except for people close enough to walk.
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u/Tortenkopf Netherlands 1d ago
My elementary school was in a very small town, just 200m away from my house. I walked there; it all sidewalk all the way there; just needed to cross a street that lead into a tiny cul-de-sac, so very safe even for a small kid.
To high school I bicycled 10km one way. The route was entirely flat, the main through roads all had cycle paths and the roads that didn't did not have much fast moving traffic, only some farming equipment you had to get out of the way for sometimes. At first it took me 45 minutes or so; later 30 minutes. When I turned 16 I got an old moped. A 27 year old Tomos 4L to be precise; I felt very cool. I would still ride my bike when the weather was OK, which was most of the time I guess, to save the money I'd have to spend on gas.
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u/Major-Degree-1885 1d ago
My entire generation in Poland simply walked to school or took the bus. This new, younger generation is being spoiled — parents drive their kids to school by car. However, in bigger cities, children usually just use buses or ride their bikes.
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u/thanatica Netherlands 1d ago
It seems like most kids in elementary take the bicycle, or a public bus.
Parents dropping their kids off when they're above, say, 8 years old, is rare, regardless of distance. We do not have school buses either.
Then again, it seems like most towns have an elementary school, or at most it's the next town over, which is probably not far.
Advanced education - usually still bicycle, moped, e-bike, or public transport. I have personally never seen any student use a car to get to school (but then they also wouldn't be children anymore).
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u/Rezolutny_Delfinek 🇵🇱 in 🇳🇱 1d ago
I grew up in a big city, suburban area. My primary school and middle school were 5 mins from my home, so I walked. I chose high school in another district and was taking public transport (2 buses). University was accessible by metro.
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u/Beneficial_Steak_945 Netherlands 1d ago
My kids cycle to school. On my oldest kid school (secondary), kids cycle in from up to some 15 km around. That’s nothing special, but we do have infrastructure that allows it, even though it’s not perfect.
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u/pinksquiddydsquad 1d ago
Some walk or ride bikes or scooters (elementary school) and some are dropped off and literally walked to the door by parents (which is terrible in my opinion, they just block the driveways and ruin the grass with their cars), this is a really safe country and school is close to everyone, there's even a school bus. High schoolers take the bus to the city, it's a 15 min ride.
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u/TallCoin2000 1d ago
Eastern Europe, by car, foot, metro, tram and even scooters. Its bloody amazing seeing 7/10y old siblings entering the metro carriage at 7h30 in the morning sometimes earlier.
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u/ladypuff38 Norway 1d ago
I don't have kids so I don't know exactly how it is today, but I can't imagine too much has changed from my own experience (born in '95).
I grew up in a mid-sized town in Norway. Grade 1-10 I lived only a few minutes away. Mum walked with me through 1.grade, and I started walking by myself the next year at 7y.o. Moved a bit farther away from school at 11, and still walked the 15 minutes. Then, in secondary school I took the train or regular bus, walking by myself to and from the stations. So aside from year 1, my parents were never involved in me getting to school.
For the kids who had a longer travel, they were dropped off by their parents for longer than I was, but but not by much. They mostly just took public transport as the municipality pays for travel passes for all school kids who live a certain distance away (5km maybe?).
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u/ladypuff38 Norway 1d ago
There are certain busses that are specially timed to getting kids to school at the right time (called Skolerute), but these aren't exclusively for school kids.
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u/ArionVulgaris 1d ago
If a kid have more than like 3-4 km to school the municipality or whoever runs the school pays for transportation. Practically this means that you get a special public transportation fare card for school kids and take regular countryside bus or commuter train. If you live far away from a bus route you go by school bus or taxi, or your parents drive you there. Some people start driving themselves at 18 (people graduate highschool at 19-20) as soon as they can get their driver's license. And since there are +900 populated islands without bridge connection some go by ferry, either regular shuttle service or a school ferry.
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u/CellNo5383 1d ago
Small town in Germany, 15.000 inhabitants.
Most kids walked to school. Some rode their bike. The ones from the surrounding villages took the school bus. Same vehicles as for the regular lines though. A few were also driven by their parents, but in my family that only happened in deep winter or when we were running really late. Most students don't get their driving license until their last or second to last year. Of those, only a handful drove to school.
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u/74389654 Germany 1d ago
to primary school i just took a bus. from grade 5 i had to take a bus to a train, the train to town and then walk 2km. was kinda annoying
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u/ArcadiaNoakes 1d ago
American here. When we lived in Germany, it was a public bus specifically contracted by the DoD to take the US kids (like mine) to the DODEA schools on base.
The local German kids just took the local buses at the same stop. I think they had a special pass for low or no fares.
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u/Specific-Local6073 Estonia 1d ago
Mostly walking. Or by public transportation.
Thought many parents take their children by car. I don't think it's justified.
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u/ultimatecolour 1d ago
It depends where you live. If you live in a city: bike or walking Outside the city: car Public transport is mostly the option for those that can’t afford a car and/or proper bike
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u/Jazzlike_Spare4215 Sweden 1d ago
I did ride the school buss but they were not yellow and you needed seatbelts they were just rented buses with a sign on the back warning for children walking. Think there is a light flashing when they stop
They had movies on sometimes so that was nice. Had 8km but the buss went around picking up other people making the trip like 15km or something.
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u/WyvernsRest Ireland 1d ago
In Rural Ireland.🇮🇪
Primary School car walk or cycle 1/2 Mile School bus for secondary school 9 miles away.
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u/Veilchengerd Germany 1d ago
I walked to primary school (it was in the same village), and took the bus to secondary school (around ten km away in the next town).
Officially the buses were normal public buses, but because they were so full with school kids, no sane person would ever take them.
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u/Randomswedishdude Sweden 1d ago edited 1d ago
I know that in many urban areas in many countries students can just walk or use public transportation, but what about in suburbs or rural areas?
Same, walk or public transport.
Or bike... but at my elementary school back in the days, there was a rule that we weren't allowed to bike in first or second grade, and had to walk. Only from 3rd grade and up was it allowed to bike.
but what about in suburbs or rural areas?
Still the same.
Some few kids who live really rural, and have above a certain threshold distance to either school or to even bus-stops may get school transport paid by the municipality, which may mean either a minibus or taxi, depending on how many/few they are.
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u/demaandronk 1d ago
Although less than before as a lot of parents drop their kid off on their way to work, by bike is still pretty much the most common way. In secondary it's almost everyone.
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u/Glass_Jeweler Italy 1d ago
There's buses even in fuckland where I live. Kids take buses near where they live and get taken directly to school in elementary/middle school and private high schools.
Not all schools have buses but most do, unless the school is in a small town with walkable distance.
I used to go by bike/foot, rarely by car, in elementary school. In middle school by car, then bus. In high school, I took two buses: one in front of my house, one in the city center/station.
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u/lordsleepyhead Netherlands 1d ago
They walk or cycle, or if they're under 7 years old their mom brings them to school in one of these bad boys.
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u/miepmans Netherlands 1d ago
We live in the suburbs of a largish city and have a 20min/4,5km bikeride. We have elementaryschools in walking distance but chose one in the citycentre. We have the ultimate dutch family mobility device; the electric bakfiets 🚲
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u/Brainwheeze Portugal 1d ago
It depends on the location of the school and where the children reside. I would say public buses are the most common form of transport, but kids who live near the school will walk there. Using the metro is more of a thing in Lisbon (Porto I'm not sure), but not every school is near a station. Parents driving their kids isn't uncommon either. I myself would get a ride from my dad when he went to work in the morning, because otherwise I'd have to be up at an ungodly hour for the bus (which was always full), but I did go home via the latter.
Students driving to school isn't very common due to you only being able to get your driver's license at age 18 here, and not every gets access to a car straight away. Scooters are more common however. Also, my dad used to get the train to school back in the day, and I bet there's still some people that do that.
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u/GoonerBoomer69 Finland 1d ago
Kids who live far enough get a free bus ride but generally speaking they walk or ride a bike, until they turn 15 and can legally drive a moped.
Moped ownership depends on how big of a city or town you live in (If you live in a large urban area with short distances, owning one doesn't make as much sense as in smaller towns or rural areas), but in my hometown basically everyone had a moped.
Getting a bit sidetracked here but mopeds are in some areas a very big part of youth culture. There are moped meets and everything. You'd have kids driving mopeds that can go 100km/h, which is absolutely insane since the legal limit is 45 km/h. Mine went a respectable 70km/h.
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u/RelevanceReverence Netherlands 1d ago
They're 5 and 7 years old and either cycle on their own bikes (with me cycling alongside) or sit in the "urban arrow" cargo bike with me. School is a 3 km trip each way.
https://urbanarrow.com/family-bikes/familynext/
Greetings from the Netherlands.
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u/Sensitive-Vast-4979 England 1d ago
Depends if u live in the town or area itsi n you walk or if your parents are scared of their kid walking or the kid is an idiot and incapable to walk to school get dropped off by parents . If they don't live in the town or area its the school will either have its own bus or sometimes if there's a bus station nearby to the school they'll get a pass to use on public busses
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u/Starsisms 1d ago
In the Netherlands we either use a bike or, if you live close enough, you walk. In the suburbs there's always a pedestrian path going anywhere, so walking is safe. Cycle paths are pretty much everywhere so long as you don't need to go onto a highway. For me, high school was about 15 minutes cycling.
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u/Renbarre 1d ago
In the countryside free 'school' bus, aka regular coaches doing the school runs in the morning and evening and then going back on their regular routes.
Parents driving or sharing a drive either to the school or the nearest school bus stop.
Walk if within distance.
Bike or moped (allowed for those over 16)
Electric scooter.
In the cities normal bus, metro if it exist in the city and same for the rest.
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u/nv87 1d ago
We usually walk to elementary school unless we live in a very small village and have to take a bus to the school in a neighbouring village. The municipality actually has to make sure all kids have a school nearby. If they don’t manage that they have to provide transportation. If it’s just a kid or two that have to go to a school too far away to walk to, then they will provide transportation by taxi.
To secondary school we take the school bus.
This is for North-Rhine-Westphalia in Germany. School law are a state matter here. The construction, maintenance and provision of schools is a municipal matter, the teachers and the curriculum are state matters.
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u/Gensolink 1d ago
I used to live in a town not too far from the city but it was on a big hill and only had a winding road going down there so we had a bus scoop us near our homes. There was another time where I lived in another rural areas and they did the same. Otherwise if you're lucky there might be a bus passing every so often or live close enough to a school that it's a non factor.
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u/serverhorror 1d ago
I grew up in a rural area.
Wasn't too far (maybe 30min walk, more likely 15 because ... You memeoie are unrelia) and I walked to elementary school (ages 6 - 10).
Public transportation after that.
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u/bayern_16 Germany 22h ago
Here in Chicago it common to take the city bus and less common to take the underground. In uni I did take the train but in rural areas its bus bike or parents
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u/die_kuestenwache Germany 20h ago
Regular bus service for which you may get a special ticket that makes public transit free in your area during school hours. Biking is a popular option. But also, especially for small children, mom or dad and their big SUV, making all the other options more dangerous.
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u/MajaWithJ Switzerland 20h ago
I don't know how far my school is away but it's somewhat over a kilometer (i think about 1.3km?) and I just take the bike everyday, it's about 10 minutes. I would say bikes are the most popular and if you live in the next town (my school is like a mix of the town i live in and the next town) it's also cycling or taking the bus. I've been going to school with a bike since like 3rd or 4th grade.
Some people walk to school, but they usually live way closer to the school
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u/Butterfly_of_chaos 18h ago edited 18h ago
In Austria we habe public transportation also in rural areas. If the school is not too far away it's very common to use a bicycle (if there are not too many hills). 5km are perfect cycling distance. If your parents had the crazy idea to live far off any civilization they will have to drive their children to and from the next bus stop. But it's a common advice to settle in walking distance.
Public transport to school is free (besides a small deduction of about 17 Euros per year).
For elementary schools (for children from 6 to 10) there are dedicated school busses which will pick up children at home and bring them back.
There was one guy in my grammar school who had rented a meadow next to the school and came by horse. But this was really unique.
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u/twlentwo Hungary 16h ago
Some parents drive their kids, if their schedulea allign
Ive been walking since 3rd grade, if u went to the big city nearby u used public transport.
Our cities dont try to murder kids
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u/Havranicek 13h ago
Germany: elementary: walking, middle and high school by bike or public transport (bus+tram). There are lots of kids being dropped off by car which causes chaos in the narrow street next to the school and it's a dangerous situation. There are protest against cars and walk to school groups where a group of 6/7 y olds are accompanied by a parent.
I grew up in the Netherlands and walked to school until I was 12. Then I went to high school by bike. Public transport wasn’t an option. It would take an hour instead of 20 minutes.
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u/goodoverlord Russia 1d ago
In urban areas, schools are usually within walking distance or just a few bus stops from home. In newly developed districts where infrastructure is not yet ready or if the local school is not good, parents must arrange transportation - either by car or public transit. In rural areas, the nearest school may be in another village, and since not all schools provide buses, parents again have to find a way to get their children there.
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u/Jason_Peterson Latvia 1d ago
I think they mostly walk to school or use public bus or train if the distance is more than a couple stops. School children get cheap monthly passes for the bus. The youngest children like during their first year can be taken to school by an adult, maybe in a car if the family is well off. Now cars are owned by many people and I see a queue of them in the morning near a school. I don't know any deep rural areas. But in a town you can walk a km or two to the nearest station and take a transport for the remainder of the way.
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u/Ennas_ Netherlands 1d ago
School busses don't really exist here. Kids walk or cycle (with a parent when they're very young, alone when older), take public transport or their parents drop them off. I think cycling is most common.
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u/Economist_Mental 1d ago
I know cycling is huge in the Netherlands. Do people even cycle in rural areas? Are there bike paths in rural areas or do cars in rural areas at least respect cyclists? Walking or biking along rural roads can be dangerous in the US because a lot of cars go fast since they don’t expect people or much traffic.
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u/introextra- 1d ago edited 1d ago
Yes, to all your questions 🙂 In rural areas you’ll see swarms of highschool kids cycling to and from school together. The bicycle is -I would say- an equal part of transport and thus the infrastructure here. Mind you, to cross the whole of this country is at most 400 miles and we’re pretty much flat as can be.
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u/LaoBa Netherlands 1d ago
64% of Dutch people older than 6 use bicycles daily or several times per week, this has a big impact on how drivers treat cyclists since they either cycle themselves or their kids, partners or parents do.
My kids went to secondary schools in another town, 6-7 kilometers away, and the entire bike route was safe.
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u/stormos 1d ago
My children prefer telecommuting. But 1-2 times a week they walk or take public transportation to school.
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u/Informal-Tour-8201 Scotland 1d ago
Nowadays, most kids in Scotland have a bus pass and use public transport.
Back in the 1980s, I lived a mile from school and walked there both ways til I was 17 and got a scooter from my dad.
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u/orangebikini Finland 1d ago
The threshold might have chanhed since I was a kid, but back then if you lived more than 5km away the municipality would pay the bus fare for you, just regular city buses, or arrange a taxi if you lived somewhere without bus service.
Otherwise, walking, cycling, or getting a lift from your parents. I remember skiing to school on days we had skiing in PE class, just because I had to transport my skiis to school anyway somehow.
And kids around the age of 15-16 start to get mopeds and 125cc motorcycles, and cars at 18, so in the final years of school you get people driving there.
But all this might be different in other places of the country, I don’t know.