DD alone on bus. What age?

[SimplyTheBus]

DD (10) currently goes to a sports club 430-6pm. We take the bus straight from school, she's a few minutes late; home at 7.
She has just been asked to join the older group which runs 6-730pm. We can make this, but it will be very tedious for me and DS.
DD finishes school at 4. Get bus at 510, arrive at club at 535 (or 542 if we miss the connection).DS and I get 555, be home at 630pm.

i.e. we'll be out 5pm-630pm just to drop her at her club.

I'm wondering what age you'd allow your DD to travel across a city alone. Trip is 10 minutes regional bus into city main station, walk across the front of the train station to one of the stops of the city bus, (potentially an 8 minute wait) 16 minutes on the city bus, 2 minute walk to the clubhouse.
She would be quite early, but she has the code to the clubhouse and there will be people around (I.e. the group she's in now).
She would have a phone.
4 stops further than where she needs to get off, the red light district starts...

@BendingSpoons DH should be home by 630-7 so I can collect her with the car.

At least not until secondary age.

I'd expect her to call me if there was a problem

But what could you do about it, when you're a couple of bus journeys away? If she ends up on a wrong bus and she's heading who knows where and panicking? It's not like you can just jump in a car to where she is?

It's a very different scenario, lots of children travelling together that know each other after school than a child travelling on her own.

Is there a cinema, soft play or swimming pool you and DS can go to? Sometimes you have to tell your children no and this maybe one of those times as it's not convienient for your family unless another parent can step in.

God no. What if she gets prayed upon by a pervert, an unhinged or a group of teens that want to mug her or hit her?!

No way would I allow this especially in the dark.

If it was one bus, door to door, in the summer months and a very mature ten year old then maybe at a push but the change of buses and the dark evenings would make me very uncomfortable.

@PuttingDownRoots coach has assured me he keeps the younger ones together, so she would only ever be with the U14's. Some of the older U14's will train with the U20's sometimes.

Does your dh use the car for work? Tell him to get the bus and drive your DD both ways.

Don't you drive? That's a lot of faff I bet it's only a 10min drive. I got the bus to/from school at 10 with a 15 min walk to the bus stop but I wouldn't let my 10 year old get the bus across a city in the dark alone. Can't she lift share with someone if you don't drive and give them petrol money? That's a lot of faff afterschool for a 10 year old to get to an activity with or without you.

My DD loved going on the bus (outer London) by herself at that age.

I think, aged 10, you can postpone moving into the 14+ training session until the evenings get lighter.
Then you and DS can accompany her to the second bus, and she can do the last bit alone.

My youngest wouldn't cope aged 11, but then we don't do busses. It sounds like it's a trip your daughter is well accustomed to.

Mine were 11 , when started yr 7 & never in the dark.

I too am laughing at the posters saying 14-15. FFS. Ds2 and his friends caught the bus or train to go to places, cinema, bowling etc at 12/13.

I think it's the difference between age you'd let them travel alone and age they travel with friends.

Torn on this. Depends on child.

In some areas, they have lower, middle and upper schools. Middle school children would routinely get themselves to school by themselves, from year five, including crossing busy roads.

If it were a simple journey, ie one bus, not a problem. But I would be more cautious due to the change and having to wait around.

can you find another parent who could help?

My ds has been catching multiple buses around our city since year 7.

14/15 earliest. They need to know how to handle the weirdos/predators.
Your dd is much much too young. Especially in the dark, I am not sure why you posted really. too risky.

I too am laughing at the posters saying 14-15. FFS. Ds2 and his friends caught the bus or train to go to places, cinema, bowling etc at 12/13.

There's a huge difference between letting children a couple of years older, with the experience of being in high school, go out in a group on public transport to letting a single child go on the bus alone, walk alone, catch another bus and then walk alone in the dark.

No way! She's TEN far too young to be gadding about changing busses & waiting around for another one to turn up. Train station, in the dark, by herself .No, she's TEN.

can DH bus/train that day? Even if it means you dropping him off at the station.

if not she either stays in the younger group or you & DS just get on with it. It's a good opportunity for him to do homework or read to you.

you don't let your TEN year old do unsafe things because going with them is a pain in the arse!

I'm quite free range but it's quite a lot for a kid that young when it's dark. I started letting DD take tube 1 stop to Guides in the evening at that age, but then there's a busy 5 min walk to the tube from our house and the Guides was held literally nextdoor to the tube station at the other end. But that was only OK as it was so straightforward.

It does sound a pain.

Is a taxi one way an option?. Might not be too much less than bus fares for all of you, both ways. If you have a company that does school runs,drivers are DBS checked.

Too much more (£)

Absolutely not at 10. I know loads have commented their year 7’s travel to and from school alone by bus, but that’s generally daylight hours with a ton of other kids all going the same way, even on a ‘public’ bus.