1 week Ago
Nine-year-old Naya Osama spends nearly two hours every day commuting to her school, only a little over 5 km from her house in Al Nad, Sharjah. The Grade 4 student has to wake up at 5:50 am to catch her school bus that picks her at 6:45 am. “Her school is 5.
6 km away, in the University City Road Industrial Area 6, and we pay Dh5,500 as bus fee. But it is the long bus ride that actually bothers us. It takes nearly two hours for the bus to cover such a short distance as other children have to be picked up along the way.
As a working mother, I cannot do the school runs, so the bus is the only solution for me,” says Naya’s mother Rehab Abdullah. 'Drop-off time changes daily' Though her school ends at 4:00 pm, Naya reaches home almost two hours later. “The bus leaves school at 4:30 pm, and she reaches home around 5:30-6:00 pm depending on traffic,” said the Jordanian expat.
Stay up to date with the latest news. Follow KT on WhatsApp Channels. Naya’s mother said she tells her daughter to remain awake on the bus as there have been worrying stories about children being forgotten on the bus .
“However, as she is very tired, she dozes off at times. She comes home exhausted and has little time to eat. She finishes her homework, and goes to bed.
” Although school buses are the only option for some families, they said they are not always the best option. “For one, the child gets very tired. They spent almost two hours on the bus with no access to washroom, which can result in health concerns.
Moreover, I am always anxious as there's no fixed time for her to reach home.” Similarly, Nighat Waheed’s daughter Aiza, who is in Year 8, spends up to three hours commuting to and from school for a distance of 15 km. “Aiza’s bus arrives around 5:20am, and a few children are already there in the bus by then.
School starts at 7:15am. They arrive early and have to wait a bit before the gates open. The buses must adhere to their schedules, and it takes an hour to return from Al Qusais to Sharjah.
” 'Students fall asleep in bus due to exhaustion' Nighat said her daughter often falls asleep on the bus during both her morning and afternoon commutes. “She dozes off while going to school and sometimes on the way back as well. The long commute isn’t solely due to the distance; it also takes longer because of traffic congestion and bottlenecks in certain areas.
There are especially significant delays on Eitihaad Road during peak hours. Having said so, I would reiterate school buses are a safer option for parents,” said the Pakistani expat in the UAE. Nighat, who spends Dh4,000 each year on transportation, shared that her husband wanted to drive their child to school every morning.
“However, the school refused. They said we cannot choose the option of only dropping her off in the morning; we must opt for both pick-up and drop-off service.” Health impacts of long commutes Meanwhile, doctors warn long school commutes can have adverse effects on the health of schoolchildren.
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