[nordsieck]

> The only place I’ve personally witnessed wide spread mass transit use for youth in school is Japan.

Kids have been able to ride the busses around Seattle for free for many years now (and before that, during the summer for free). It's worked out pretty well. Or at least the program as continued, and I've seen a lot of kids using the city busses.

Definitely a better system than yellow school busses.

[dan_quixote]

And it's normal to see young kids walk to school unattended in Seattle. I live near an elementary school and see it every day. Totally unusual in much of the rest of the US.