TULSA, Okla. — Mary Busten starts each morning with a two-mile walk to and from Graham Park. She closes her day out the same way.
It's the closest bus stop to her home to get her girls to Memorial Middle School, one mile from home.
“I definitely don’t want them to do it alone," said Busten. "I definitely always will be here to pick them up, like they’re never going to walk home from the bus stop by themselves. So, that hinders me from being fully employed.”
Being near 61st and Lewis, Busten doesn't let her young daughters do the walk by without her supervision.
“It’s not that they can’t do it. It’s that I couldn’t rest easy while they were doing it, and you don’t know who is gonna be out here.”
She doesn't drive, so their only option is to take the bus. However, the location of the stop and the distance from her house are a hassle.
“I don’t know who this works for, because it really doesn’t work for me," said Busten. "There’s no sidewalk, and then there’s a ditch, like a really big ditch, so my kids would have to walk in the street.”
This routine has led to her daughters missing school on a number of occasions.
"There are days that I’m sick, they have to be home from school because I’m too sick to walk a mile," said Busten. "Or if there’s thunder or lightning in the morning, it’s not like okay, we’ve just got to go two blocks... In the heat it’s horrible. It is hard to do."
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Busten didn't call 2 News first.
She said she reached out to Tulsa Public Schools' Education Service Center and Transportation Department to see if a closer stop could be added.
“I decided to call you guys because when I said I’ve tried calling several times, no one ever returns my call," she said. "I said I guess maybe I should call Channel 2 works for you. She said yeah, I would.”
2 News reached out to TPS for Busten.
Getting children safely to school on time and back home again is our priority. While Tulsa Public Schools provides transportation for middle school students living 2 miles or more from their school, we recognize that in some circumstances — such as inclement weather — this can be a challenge for students and families. We are exploring ways to reduce the distance to bus stops and are eager to hear from families about how we can best support their needs. We are piloting several initiatives and working with community partners to lessen the barriers with things like walking school buses, free access to Metrolink's MicroLink, and more.
Families can explore more about bus stops and routes on our web site [tulsaschools.org]. There they can review all available stops to find a location that is most convenient for the needs of their student.
2 News is working with TPS to highlight alternative options the district has — including walking school buses — for families like the Busten's who can't easily get to a stop, and will bring that update shortly.
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