Back to School, Back to Bus Life: Student Stories

Students who regularly take the bus share that it has become like an extended free period. It can be a place to “get work done,” according to Athena Jiang ’30, “hang out with friends,” said Vivian Kelly ’29, or simply enjoy some “downtime,” said Sonya Mittal ’27. 

The bus creates memories for all who take it; sometimes it's an unexpected friendship, sometimes it’s having funny bus drivers, and sometimes it’s a complete stranger. No matter what the situation is, you can count on the bus to give you a story to tell once you arrive at school. 

For Beatrix Vassilev ’27, her most memorable story wasn’t about bus driver, a new friend, or being late, but was about getting slept on. She recalled a time where she was sitting next to a girl she didn’t know. The girl fell asleep and started leaning on Vassilev. She shared “it must’ve actually happened at least three or four times as we were driving.” Eventually, the girl got off and Vassilev had the bus all to herself and got to lay down on her seat. 

One of the biggest advantages of taking the bus is having a small window of free time, a rare and valuable thing for Hopkins students. Kelly shares that when she takes the bus, she has time to “do homework, sleep, and hang out with friends.” Tyler Boyd ’29 similarly stated that he gets “extra time to study” on the bus.

Taking the bus also gives students an opportunity to spend time with others. Kaya Heeger ’29 said that a big benefit of taking the bus is that “you can have conversations with people you might not otherwise.” Sharing a ride with students from different grades and friend groups opens the door for new friendships that would have been rarer during school days. Jemma Grauer ’28 experienced this, saying her conversations with people on the bus turned into “closer friendships” and “a lot of great memories on the bus.” Some friendships even continue beyond the bus ride. Ava Morello ’27 said that “one of [her] favorite memories” was when, during her freshman and sophomore year, “the group of kids who took the late bus” with her, all planned to go “trick or treating in Westport by the beach” together.

Of course, bus rides aren’t always filled with great memories or trick or treating afterwards. Sometimes, the bus can be inconvenient. Grauer estimated that from her house, getting to school takes around 20 minutes, but when she takes the New Haven bus it averages around 30 minutes, sometimes even 40. Although the New Haven bus is free, it’s “often late,” according to Heeger. Similarly, people on the Westport bus also experience delays, since they “have to stop at Fairfield first,” Mittal shared. The extra minutes can add up for students with first period classes. Grauer shared that in the fall of 2025 she would sometimes arrive at school “after advisory or assembly.” Carrie Lam ’27 says that her bus sometimes “doesn't show up so [they] have to take an Uber.” Delays remain one of the biggest frustrations for bus takers.

Besides the long rides and unpredictable schedules, there are smaller inconveniences as well. Jiang shared that it includes having to “wake up earlier” and having “too many people” on one bus, leading to people being “kicked onto another bus.” For athletes like Boyd, transporting equipment is a hassle since “there isn’t a trunk.”

Despite the inconveniences the bus causes, students have many stories and memories that make the bus more than just a trip to school. For Grauer, her most memorable story goes all the way back to her first time ever taking the bus: “The second day of second grade, we had this really funny bus driver, and the bus driver was talking about the bus getting hit and then how it would be funny suing them and getting a lot of money.” Lam had another funny memory to share. Lam’s bus driver once saw kids from a different school that didn’t get picked up, so “she felt bad even though [they] were already late” and “decided to give them a ride to some school in New Haven.” Late bus arrivals turned into memories for students such as Morello, who recalls having to “huddle like penguins” for an hour at the Fairfield bus stop on the “coldest winter day” while waiting for another bus to come pick them up. 

 
Regardless of the early mornings, long rides, or unpredictable schedules, for many students the bus has become more than just a way of getting to and from school;it's a time to relax, study, and to form unexpected friendships with lasting memories, which can ultimately make bus life worth the inconveniences.