Public Transportation to School

Mini-Commuters

The kids have been on many different types of public transportation during their lives.  Will first rode the Tokyo Subway system when he was just 10 days old.  They have both been on subways/metros, buses, boats, trains, trams, light rail and funiculars in more than a dozen countries.  They have been on the busiest and most complex systems in not only Tokyo, but also New York, Washington, London, Paris and Budapest.

Back when Will turned 10-years-old, he had a good grasp of the metro system in Toulouse.  It's got 2 lines, so it isn't terribly complex.  We told him that since he was getting older and more responsible, it would be ok with us if he wanted to go on the metro by himself.  You know, to the candy store or something.  He never really took us up on the offer except to head home after late dinners out at restaurants as we were finishing up our dessert or coffee or paying the bill.   Typically that would not really involve the metro since there are many restaurants within walking distance of our apartment.

Then, when Alex turned 10 this year, a new family moved to Toulouse and their kids started taking the metro the 17 km out to school.  They were 12 and 14 years old.  After we figured out the route, we started sending the 4 kids to commute to school on their own.  Because when you think about it, spending 3 hours a day driving and waiting for kids at school is a little crazy.  We would leave for school at 7:30am, drive for 30 minutes, then hang out for 25 minutes until Alex's school started.  Then, I would return, typically taking 35 minutes back, getting home at 9:00am.  If we left later than 7:30am, we might not make it to school by the start time of 8:30am because traffic stacks up during that window.  Then, in the afternoon, I would drive to school, leaving around 3:25pm, getting Alex at 4:00pm, waiting the 15 minutes for Will to finish school, driving back home arriving around 5:00pm.

Three hours is the estimated time spent with normal traffic.  One time it took 2 hours to get to school.  There had been a truck drivers' strike the day before.  The trucks didn't go anywhere until after the strike was over, then they all left the next morning at the same time.  Which meant we couldn't go anywhere.  After about an hour of trying to get out of our neighborhood, we finally got across the river and were sort of on our way.  We stared wistfully at the tram for a while as we were stuck in traffic near the stop.  The kids got to school just before 9:30am.  To add insult to injury, it was a Wednesday.  Which means that the kids only had a half day.  I decided to just get coffee and groceries near school until the noon pickup time.  We have had similar experiences returning home from school.  The problem is primarily on the Friday before a school vacation.  Everyone leaves a little early and tries to get on the road on Friday evening.  It's kind of like trying to get out of Los Angeles before a holiday weekend.

Back in January, when it was still dark at 7:30am, the kids started taking the Tram to the Train to the Bus to school.

The Tram in January

We didn't just stick them on the tram and hope that they could figure out the connections.  The first few times, I went with them.  For the return trip, we practiced that too.  I would leave around 2:00pm to take the public transportation to school, then return with them, trying a couple different ways to get home and teaching them how to figure out which train to get on and where to scan their transport cards.  Despite being a huge expenditure of time, it was totally worth it.

After a few tweaks in the route, the boys currently the boys leave home at 7:10am, scooter over to the SNCF station, take the train nearly all the way to school, then scooter over to school, arriving around 8:00am.  Then, to return home in the afternoon, they take a bus to the train station, train to the tram, then scooter home, arriving at different times, depending on the day and success of quick connections.  Sure, they need to spend more of their time commuting, but it's a whole lot better than me spending 3 hours per day, every day, driving them to school and back.

Fun and Fast Scooters

Of course, nothing is simple and easy.  The kids have had times where the different parts of the journey were behind schedule, connections didn't work, part of the system was shut down, or the national trains or local transport have been on strike.  Fortunately, they have been able to think on their feet, improvise, and make it to their destination without too much trouble.

One time, when Will was coming home on his own after Computer Club, the transit officials kicked everyone off the tram.  Since Will had his scooter, he decided that the best way home on the last part of the journey would be to scooter on the sidewalk, along the tram track route.  It took a while, I was slightly worried, but he made it home.

The train strike has been the most fascinating of problems.  The day before a scheduled train strike, you can check the route you want.  It will show the schedule changes and alternative transportation by bus if that is what replaces the normal train route for that day.  Most times this has been reliable.  One time when the boys' train was supposed to be on track, it didn't arrive.  Fortunately, they were able to take the next train that was 30 minutes later.  They were slightly late for school, but here in France, La Greve, the strike, is an acceptable excuse and you aren't counted tardy.

The kids have become so adept at taking the public transportation that they feel they can figure out any route.  They think that when we are in the US, they are going to be able to take transport out to visit their cousins' house.  I think someone needs to tell them that the US doesn't work the same way as Europe.  (Technically they could do it, but it would take 3 hours.)  It will be a disappointing reverse culture shock for them.