A big hoohah locally about kids being kicked off the bus for bad behaviour

[ElderAve]

A normal service bus that takes a lot of children at school times.

A group of 11 yos were asked to leave, by the driver, after throwing things, repeatedly ringing the bell and abusing fellow passengers and the driver when asked to stop.

Mother has gone to the local press about the unreasonableness of leaving 11yos "stranded" 2 miles/40 min walk from home (in daylight). It's only sheer good fortune that she was able to drive out to collect them....

Personally, if my DC were removed from a bus for bad behaviour, I'd be embarrassed and angry with them, ot the company. I'd see having to walk home as a natural consequence of what they'd done and I'd be making them write a letter of apology - that poor driver having to deal with that in the course of his work.

However, looking at the comments on the newspaper site and on the local FB group I am very much in the minority.

Was the driver really in the wrong and putting children "at risk"?

Where I live there's a school bus that's notoriously bad. God knows what's been going on, it's been bad since I was at school and one to be avoided. They behave like animals........ironically it serves one of the naice schools.

Most the other secondarys have always had a staff member on rota to travel the round route on the school bus and they honestly have no issues barring the usual noise. They certainly aren't hanging off the windows like the other lot.

Apples don't fall far from trees.
If my child was thrown off the bus for foul behaviour I'd apologise and have a good look at my parenting.

Behaviour has consequences.

It's no wonder kids think it's acceptable to behave poorly if that's how their parents respond though.

This actually happened when I was at school. But rather than chuck the perpetrators off the bus, the driver didn't stop at all until he got to the bus garage in town (way beyond where most of the school kids got off the bus). Goodness knows what any 'ordinary' passengers thought, with the bus not stopping anywhere... (or possibly it was a special bus service, can't remember now). Anyway, it didn't do us any harm and it became a legendary tale.

Why did they have to walk home, couldn’t they just wait for the next bus and behave on that one?

well, now we know where they got it from - mummy dearest trains them to be skanky brats.

serve them right. I hope the community ostracises her.

Bus driver did this when we were kids (11 mile journey to and from school - about 150 of us) - booted two kids off 3 miles from town . Can’t remember if we all had mobile phones - was about 2006 ... I think they just walked back to town and got a public bus home .

I also think the driver was within his rights (in your scenario and mine), kids were assholes on the school buses (think throwing 2l bottles of coke from upstairs windows to hit cars, party poppers/string, smoking and drinking freely, no seatbelts) - I look back in horror as it’s a wonder no one was killed . We ended up with the DHTs escorting us home ...

Good for the bus driver.

Bad behaviour can be a danger to other Pssengers and a massive distraction for the driver.

If they didnt wanna walk 2 miles then they should have behaved

The bus driver was quite right.
That is the problem nowadays. So many rude entitled brats because their parents don't teach them manners or discipline them.

The bus driver was in the right. If my son got kicked off a bus for bad behaviour and abusing passengers then I'd make him walk the 2 miles home anyway as punishment, I wouldn't be collecting him.

Agree with the bus driver. Either they behave or they walk, simple option really. Next time perhaps they'll behave. Who knows they may have already been warned earlier in the week.

If DD came home with a similar story she'd get told off by me too. All this mum has done is embarrassed herself and her child

In my part of London @LadyCordeliaVorkosigan having their Oyster cards taken off of them is pointless as the drivers let them travel anyway. The kids just give an excuse of they've lost it/left it at home and the driver waves them through

The fact that anyone even gave this idiot airtime to whine about her poor little baba is kind of sad.
Stop giving fools like this a platform, this nonsense is not newsworthy on any level.

What a pathetic Mother .

When did it all go so wrong ? Nobody has any sense of responsibility these days . I am with you OP.

Agree with the OP.

However, looking at the comments on the newspaper site and on the local FB group I am very much in the minority
You probably aren't in the minority, but people see comments from the aggressive few and realise that if they state an alternative viewpoint the aggression will be turned on them, so don't bother. Happens on mumsnet too judging by the difference you often see between the results of polls and the opposing, aggressive comments underneath.

Yanbu.

The mother of the child who went to press is!

And fuck that about warnings first.

They are 11yo! Not babies or toddlers of infant children learning the rules of social acceptance. This is secondary school children who damn well know their behaviour is unacceptable but choose to continue it regardless.

My ds wouldn't be getting a lift home either in these circumstances.

And if he happened to deny it and say he wasn't involved I wouldn't automatically believe him but I would have said if it was true then he's an idiot for not moving away from the group when he knows the rules are present = accountable and involved.

It was a common occurrence when I was at school. Not just my school, but all the local secondaries.
If it was my child I would be furious at them, not the company.

2 miles - that’s a 30 minute plod. I walked 3 miles to secondary school school. If I’d been thrown off a bus for bad behaviour my mum would have gone mental - at me.

I would be mortified if my 11 year olds behaved like this on a school bus.
But honestly I wouldn't be impressed with the bus company just dumping them out miles from their destination.
Perhaps this is because we live in a very large city where it wouldn't be expected for dc at that age to move around by themselves ( it isn't legal to leave them at home by themselves until 14 - not the UK)
I would expect their behavior to be reported and for them to get a punishment from school and home.

I’d be mortified if my child was involved, certainly not publicising the fact that I was his parent some people have no shame.

I’m think the bus driver was right to do this. Maybe next time they’ll realise that poor behaviour has consequences. The mum should be embarrassed about the behaviour of her dc and be more concerned about dealing with them rather than moaning about the bus company.

I wish our local bus drivers would do this. Hordes of kids get on the one bus that passes their school at the end of the day and their behaviour is atrocious. Maybe a walk home in the cold would teach them a lesson about how to behave in public.

The bus driver was right. Good lesson for them to learn and if it was mine, I’d be glad he did this