Each Child Must Ride to School Alone?

It was cold, and it was late, so I volunteered to take Nathan to his school, just a few blocks away.  As I often do I took on a new role for our short trip, I told him I was honored to be his chauffeur.  Since he was a bigshot business owner, I was happy to be able to serve him by ferrying him to this important  engagement at school.

As I approached the school and waited for Elsie, the well-known crossing guard to wave us by, I thought about the number of cars all ferrying just one tiny passenger to this school.  And how most of the women bundled up in those cars would probably consider themselves ‘environmentalists’ or at least would give the environment a high priority if they were asked to list their top concerns.

Yet here they were, each and every one driving their own child to school, and today at 2:30, they’d all return to pick up that one kid. Why is it necessary for us to do this….why don’t we share the ride with other families?

Admittedly, it’s damn cold out there, so I don’t advocate having them ride bikes to school…although in many countries that is definitely the norm, even in the coldest weather. But what if the principal simply pinpointed every household with a schoolchild in it, and then made those maps available to anyone who expressed interest in ridesharing?

How about providing people with an easy way to share, by showing the houses and showing how easy it would be to stop and pick up Johnny and Suzy since they’re all going to the same place after all?