Growing up in Lahore, a constant childhood memory was the school bus. The cheerful honk of the bus, a reminder for me to rush outside and join my friends to go to school. For me and thousands of other children, the school bus represented routine, socialising, and accessibility. It was also economical and environmental friendly but most importantly a safe and efficient way to travel for school. However, with the rise in terrorisim in Pakistan, school bus services disappeared, forcing families to rethink how they would send their children to school.
Before terrorism became a widespread issue, school buses were a convenient solution for families. They minimised traffic congestion, conserved fuel, and gave a sense of security and comfort to parents who could not drop their children to school everyday. Children felt a sense of freedom to travel alone and also found an opportunity to socialise with their friends outside the school environment. Thus, school bus services not only proved to be convenient but also sustainable and inclusive. But as terrorism set down in roots in the country this system changed.
2012 was a turning point when Malala Yousafzai was attacked while returning back home from school. This attack highlights the vulnerability of schoolchildren, especially girls, to extremist violence. Then two years later, in 2014, the devastating attack on the Army Public School in Peshawar school the nation. Over 140 people, most of whom were children, lost their lives causing fear and insecurity across Pakistan. These incidents not only revealed the vulnerability of educational institutions but also resulted in a fallout in terms of measures of protection, such as discontinuation of school bus services in many schools in Lahore.
Not just my school, but many other schools in Lahore presented this situation of bus service elimination as a safety measure. Large, conspicuous vehicles with a significant amount of children was seen as an easy target for terrorist attacks, making the children a liability. What at first seemed to be an emergency situation quickly became a permanent change. Now parents were only left with two choices, either drop their children to school themselves or arrange a private transport. Many families faced financial and logistical challenges trying to find an alternative, and in some cases decided to stop sending their children to school.
This decision had broad impacts. Parents had to change their own schedules and routines to drop and pick up their children from school, often having significant financial costs. Parents who could not afford private transportation struggled to make ends meet, Schools which were located away from residential areas noticed a decline in student attendance as many families also shifted their children to schools close to their homes. Other than this, the increased use of private cars has also had a major impact on the environment. Lahore’s traffic worsened and fuel consumptions increased. Today, with Lahore frequently ranking as the worlds most polluted city, this shift feels even more concerning. The reliance on private cars contributes not just to congestion, but to the hazardous smog that blankets the city every year during the autumn and winter season. This may contribute to small but meaningful restoration and promotion of school buses,
which can help in the improvement of air quality and lowering Lahore’s AQI levels.
Thankfully, after some years, some schools decided to restore their school bus services by taking additional safety measures like security checks of drivers and the presence of guards. Security checks were made very stringent to balance the call for security with accessibility so that families were at ease and felt relieved. On a personal level, the disappearance and eventual return of this service disrupted my morning routine and also taught me how both security and accessibility can be conflicting. The service resumed but my parents never let me use it. They insisted on dropping me and picking me up from school everyday to make themselves feel comfortable and secure. This also meant that I lost the independence I felt of travelling to school without my parents and also having more time to socialise with my friends. At the same time, this return also reminded me of how resilient our community is and how we adapt and innovate towards
making things go back to normal after any situation.
The decision to discontinue school bus services is understandable in terms of security, highlights the tension in conflict affected regions: security versus accessibility. Though the threat of terrorism is undeniable, so is the long term impact such decisions might have on education systems and the environment.
So how do we move forward? First, schools and governments need to find a way to ensure that there is accessible transport while maintaining safety. This could include installing GPS trackers on buses with parents having access to location for their ease. They could also employ trined security personnel and integrate technology to ensure parents of their children's security and that they are of utmost importance. Environmental friendly buses would also be highly essential keeping the air quality of Lahore in mind.
Education is in many ways the foundation of resilience during conflict. Therefore, education should never take a toll on how accessible and affordable it should be for every child during such challenging times. There is no excuse when it ever comes down to either safety or accessibility while going to school. While Pakistan faces issues from both terrorism and pollution, restoring trust in systems like school bus reminds us that solutions are possible when we prioritise both safety and sustainability.
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