School bus chaos in Schwerin: Children remain without access to school!

School bus chaos in Schwerin: Children remain without access to school!

In Schwerin, the situation surrounding student transport is causing a lot of discussion. The Scharfenberg family, living in Friedrichsthal, is faced with a real dilemma. Your children attend the Waldorf school Am Tannenhof, which is at the other end of the city. The way to school is anything but easy for the children, because it is forbidden to get on the bus to school at the Tourismusweg stop. The Nahbus transport company passes this stop, but is not allowed to take passengers within the city of Schwerin. This means that the children have to travel 28 stops to get to school, which means about 45 minutes of bus travel time plus walking.

To add further color to the problem, the little ones also have to change on a busy street via Ratzeburger Straße on their way to school. Christine Scharfenberg expresses clear criticism of the inadequate bus connections, especially with regard to the Deutschlandticket. The most important thing: The Waldorf School is not considered a locally responsible school, which is why the bus connections are not designed for its accessibility. “There is something going on,” she notes with a smile, but the serious problems cannot be ignored.

A difficult route to school

The unfortunate relationship between home and school is not the only problem. The local bus service was regulated by the city of Schwerin in such a way that only getting off is permitted at many stops. The district of Northwest Mecklenburg supports its bus transfer services with an impressive 12.7 million euros, but Schwerin is not allowed to allow their use within the city. This causes frustration, not only for the Scharfenberg family, but also for other affected parents.

A look at the regulations for school transport shows that it is not just children who find themselves on dangerous routes to school. The law states that school transport will only be covered if the distance to school for grades 1 to 6 is more than two kilometers. If the route to school is considered particularly dangerous, support for transport is also available in exceptional cases. According to the current regulations, an official medical certificate would have to be submitted in order to enable transport or reimbursement.

New options for parents

But there are also positive developments in Schwerin. In the coming school year, elementary school students can travel to school free of charge by bus and train. Parents in grades 1 to 4 have the opportunity to apply for a free student ticket if the journey to school is longer than two kilometers. Many parents have not yet taken action and have not submitted an application. But you should hurry, because the applications must be submitted online in good time so that the tickets are available in time for the start of the school year. If you want, you can upgrade the student ticket to a full monthly ticket for a small additional charge and also use the trainee leisure ticket.

Overall, it remains to be seen whether the ongoing problems with school transport can be resolved soon. Political committees in Schwerin are informed about the demands, but there are currently no quick solutions in sight. A planned transport network with neighboring districts is on the agenda for 2026, but when it will actually go into operation remains uncertain.

For a detailed insight, further information can be found on the websites of Northern Courier, Schwerin.de as well as Schwerin local be read.