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Would you send your kids to school on a self driving schoolbus?

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Re: Would you send your kids to school on a self driving schoolbus?

#51

Post by conductr »

b0rsuk wrote: post #20

This is missing the point. You can't leave children alone for a long time without supervision. There may be bullies, or they may bring a screwdriver and start pulling the bus apart, drink beer, stick chewing gum, piss on seats, leave trash. Someone has to keep them in check. What if kids refuse to leave and block the bus ?

In my mind there would be supervision. It might just take the form of cameras and a remote monitoring system like how security guards watch multiple feeds. Then the parents/school admins will be notified of bad behavior for disciplinary reasons. In such a way, kids will learn fast they can’t get away with much.

Re: Would you send your kids to school on a self driving schoolbus?

#52

Post by simcop2387 »

maxerickson wrote: post #27

If there is no driver to pay it probably doesn't make sense to put 20 or 30 kids on one bus. Around here (a larger rural county) there are kids that ride the bus for really long periods of time, like more than an hour each way. Much of that time is picking up other kids. I mean, I fully expect penny pinching to win the day, but it would be evil not to take the lower operating costs of a self driving vehicle and give…

Part of the problem with doing that is that it's not quite about filling the bus before going to school. It's usually done because there's only so many buses and they have to get X number of kids to the school on them, so the routes they take end up with some kids getting on and then riding for so long. That said more smaller self driving buses would help in dealing with that, which they can't do now due to the extra cost in personnel costs for drivers, but it'd also need cheaper buses to be able to afford enough of them. I'd also then expect them to try to convince other normal staff members to also ride the bus and act as a monitor instead of driving in themselves to further reduce costs.

Re: Would you send your kids to school on a self driving schoolbus?

#53

Post by Overtonwindow »

adanto6840 wrote: post #49
Overtonwindow wrote: post #43

Earlier quoted context omitted.

An enterprising student has been disciplined for taking money from other students in exchange for scanning their bus passes..... /s With a wry smile I cannot wait to see what the next generation of preteen hackers do with school-related automation.

Can't help but concur, indeed. Sadly, I feel that I need to warn my children against this now. Plenty of harmless, curiosity-minded things that I did in high school 15 years ago could potentially result in a prison sentence these days. =(

My wife and I have a list of things our children will NOT have. Near the top of that is anything with a webcam or camera. I wonder if there are internet safety classes/camps for kids. Kind of like the scared straight prison visits?

Ok everyone, today we're going to meet John. When John was 13 he sent a "selfie" to his girlfriend. Now John is on the "Sex Offender List" and he can't get a job, or use a computer, or even live in most places...

I think children should be taught, aggressively, about the dangers of the internet, and in particular how easy it is for them to become victims. Fourth Period Internet Class.

Re: Would you send your kids to school on a self driving schoolbus?

#54

Post by jaclaz »

Just kidding of course, but a new paradigm shift ;-) is still possible.

We could lock each kid in a (shockproof and fireproof) "capsule" with a seat (to which the kid is tied with belts) by the parents at home and released by the teacher at school and viceversa on the way back.

The capsule would have a QR code, a smart tag and possibly also a two way communication cellular system (besides of course GPS).

The kid inside would have a tablet with Wi-Fi [1] so that he/she is entertained during the transport.

At this point there is no difference between the (poor) kid and a "package" and he/she/it can be loaded and unloaded by a robotic arm.

There would still be issues with the kids suffering from claustrophobia, though, and probably - from time to time - some slight incident involving the lack of prompt access to a bathroom/WC ...

[1] More seriously, I noticed in the last few years at the restaurant/pizzeria the trend of entire families where father and mother are immersed in their smartphones (each on their own), the bigger kid(s) are playing games in (each on thir own) tablets and the smaller kid(s) watching some cartoons on their tablet, sometimes fixed with a support/arm to the stroller ...

Re: Would you send your kids to school on a self driving schoolbus?

#55

Post by simonsarris »

In Japan lots of children already do this. The autonomous buses are called "ressha", or a train.

(That trains technically have operators, somewhere, is not the point. They aren't minding the kids on carriage 6.)

It is amazing what we must come up with because we have botched both a high trust society and public transport so very, very badly.

Re: Would you send your kids to school on a self driving schoolbus?

#56

Post by majewsky »

simcop2387 wrote: post #52
maxerickson wrote: post #27

If there is no driver to pay it probably doesn't make sense to put 20 or 30 kids on one bus. Around here (a larger rural county) there are kids that ride the bus for really long periods of time, like more than an hour each way. Much of that time is picking up other kids. I mean, I fully expect penny pinching to win the day, but it would be evil not to take the lower operating costs of a self driving vehicle and give…

Part of the problem with doing that is that it's not quite about filling the bus before going to school. It's usually done because there's only so many buses and they have to get X number of kids to the school on them, so the routes they take end up with some kids getting on and then riding for so long. That said more smaller self driving buses would help in dealing with that, which they can't do now due to the extra…

> it'd also need cheaper buses to be able to afford enough of them

Tesla to the rescue! /s

Re: Would you send your kids to school on a self driving schoolbus?

#57

Post by hkmurakami »

tzs wrote: post #36
ryanlol wrote: post #19

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>- Last Name (you'd be surprised at how common this was) How does this happen? Is knowing your surname just a weird European thing?

Young kids in the US are usually addressed by first name at home and at school, so maybe they simply do not get enough practice with their last name to automatically remember it? I bet that with most kids who don't remember when you ask them their last name would remember if you asked them what people like appliance repair people, exterminators, receptionists at the doctor's office, or their parents' bosses call thei…

Had to write my first and last name, date, and class on the top right corner of every assignment since first grade. This made learning my last name (way too long!) a routine thing. Was a boon as an ESL student.

Then again, private school so YMMV.

Re: Would you send your kids to school on a self driving schoolbus?

#58

Post by ramzyo »

dsfyu404ed wrote: post #48
ramzyo wrote: post #12

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm also in the no supervision would be a disaster boat, but just to clarify the concept bus only has 6 seats. "The design was influenced by campfires and dinner tables, and it ensures there’s no one sitting behind anyone else–likely reduced hair pulling and teasing as a result."

>but just to clarify the concept bus only has 6 seats. And you think that will stop a middle school boys soccer team from tricking the sensors into thinking there's only six of them when there's really sixteen? Kids can be quite smart when it comes to mischief.

I don’t know if it will or won’t. My intention was to point out information from the article that the OP seemingly missed. That information would have further informed their opinion, had they not read the article, but perhaps not altered it.

FWIW, I agree with you that no doubt kids would find a way to mess with this thing.

Re: Would you send your kids to school on a self driving schoolbus?

#59

Post by fusiongyro »

fusiongyro wrote: post #47
tzs wrote: post #36

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Young kids in the US are usually addressed by first name at home and at school, so maybe they simply do not get enough practice with their last name to automatically remember it? I bet that with most kids who don't remember when you ask them their last name would remember if you asked them what people like appliance repair people, exterminators, receptionists at the doctor's office, or their parents' bosses call thei…

My son gets his last name and his middle name confused for exactly this reason. He's 5 and rides the bus.

I checked last night when I got home. My daughter just said "I don't know" when I asked her what her last name is. She turns 3 today. My son did know though, so that's good.
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