To the editor:

In Sunday’s Journal-World, it was mentioned that maybe children in Lawrence should give up riding school buses and start riding the T or a taxi cab. The thought behind that was to save money by not running the school buses.

First of all, I believe the school district is mandated by law to provide many students in the district with transportation. And another problem with that idea is that school bus drivers are trained to deal with kids and potential problems that might arise on the way to and from school. Some kids will have behavior problems or other difficulties. I don’t think the drivers of the T buses will be able to, or want to, deal with those types of issues on their buses.

School bus drivers know their kids on the bus; they know their needs and how to deal with them. And, most of all, school bus drivers care about the kids. I do not believe you can safely transport children if you do not care about them. I know these things because I drive a school bus. I know all the school bus drivers in Lawrence.

We are some of the most caring and safest school bus drivers in the U.S.; just look at our record. The bottom line is that kids are far safer riding on a school bus with drivers who care and know them well than on a city bus or a cab where the driver will not be able to tend to their needs as children.

Matt Withers,

Lawrence