ThelmaLou Posted May 2, 2011 Share Posted May 2, 2011 My son is applying for a volunteer position at the VA hospital in South Dallas. If accepted, he would need to log 100 hours over the summer. I live in Murphy, and would probably put him on the red line in Plano each morning after swim team. He would have to make a switch midway to the blue line, which would drop him right in front of the hospital. Honestly, I've never ridden the Dart Rail, and would certainly do so before making this committment. I guess I'm just wanting to know if this is a crazy idea or not. For context, he's a tall guy, 6 ft. 5. My rationale for considering it is that he's almost old enough to get his license. He'll be 16 this summer. Maybe it's the protective homeschool mom in me that gets nervous at the thought of turning him loose on the public transportation system of Dallas. Also, no other hospitals nearby are accepting applications for volunteers, and he really wants to do this. Most summer programs are completely full, but the VA just released applications today. Any insight? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kalmia Posted May 2, 2011 Share Posted May 2, 2011 (edited) My dh rode the NYC subway back and forth to school (1 hour each way with transfers) from the time he was 12. He was small for his age too. No problems at all for 6 years. I wouldn't be concerned, especially if the train is primarily a commuter train. Worse case scenario, someone spills a latte on him. If you are still worried, the transit authority probably keeps crime statistics for their routes. Edited May 2, 2011 by Kalmia Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chez J Posted May 2, 2011 Share Posted May 2, 2011 I don't know where the blue line change is to comment on the safety there. But if it lets off right at the hospital, it's probably okay. South Dallas can be rough. But, if he's not having to walk a long way through neighborhoods, I personally wouldn't worry about a 6'5" guy. If he's fit looking, I don't think he'll be messed with. I would, however, teach him situational awareness skills. Maybe ride it with him once or twice just to see what the "scene" looks like. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Elizabeth in WA Posted May 2, 2011 Share Posted May 2, 2011 My dh rode the NYC subway back and forth to school (1 hour each way with transfers) from the time he was 12. He was small for his age too. No problems at all for 6 years. I wouldn't be concerned, especially if the train is primarily a commuter train. Worse case scenario, someone spills a latte on him. If you are still worried, the transit authority probably keeps crime statistics for their routes. I also rode the NYC subway regularly unaccompanied from about age 12. Kids get public transit passes for schools, including private schools that may be far from where they live, in NYC and use them to get themselves to and from school beginning in junior high/7th grade. At least they used to, and as far as I know, still do. I don't know anything about Dallas however. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tex-mex Posted May 3, 2011 Share Posted May 3, 2011 We've ridden the red line from Plano to Fair Park a few times as a family. It was not that big of a deal. However, if your ds is naive or guillable, I'd at least try to not let him go on his own without some guidance. But it sounds like OP's son has some street smarts? If so, go for it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tex-mex Posted May 3, 2011 Share Posted May 3, 2011 I don't know where the blue line change is to comment on the safety there. But if it lets off right at the hospital, it's probably okay. South Dallas can be rough. But, if he's not having to walk a long way through neighborhoods, I personally wouldn't worry about a 6'5" guy. If he's fit looking, I don't think he'll be messed with. I would, however, teach him situational awareness skills. Maybe ride it with him once or twice just to see what the "scene" looks like. :iagree::iagree::iagree: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Laura Corin Posted May 3, 2011 Share Posted May 3, 2011 (edited) I've ridden the Dart rail - I wouldn't hesitate about Calvin using it, from my experience. What time of day would he come back? Laura Edited May 3, 2011 by Laura Corin Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThelmaLou Posted May 3, 2011 Author Share Posted May 3, 2011 He would probably be traveling there around 9:30 a.m. and coming back around 3:30 or 4:00 p.m. I'm leaning toward letting him do it, but will definitely ride it with him once or twice. That's assuming he's accepted into the program! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Farmgirl70 Posted May 3, 2011 Share Posted May 3, 2011 We're not in DFW, but my kids (ages 14-17) ride all forms of public transportation regularly. We live in a neighborhood that is considered "bad", but they have not had any problems. They've also ride a commuter train that takes them south of San Francisco quite regularly. I think it's been confidence inspiring for them. Hope your son is accepted to the program! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Laura in CA Posted May 3, 2011 Share Posted May 3, 2011 We're not in DFW, but my kids (ages 14-17) ride all forms of public transportation regularly. We live in a neighborhood that is considered "bad", but they have not had any problems. They've also ride a commuter train that takes them south of San Francisco quite regularly. I think it's been confidence inspiring for them. Hope your son is accepted to the program! :iagree: Also not DFW, but also in the SF Bay Area, and my ds14 takes BART regularly to a class in Berkeley. He loves loves loves the freedom. We did talk about safety and awareness and street smarts beforehand, but it turned out he knew more than I thought he did (such as where the emergency stop buttons are located in each car)! He usually travels during the day on weekdays, and has had no problems, which is what I expected. (Now, hanging around in one of the big-city stations or parking lots on a dark weekend night would be another story!) Usually he travels with a group of other homeschooled kids; some of the boys are over 6 ft tall (but typical mild-mannered homeschool boys!). However, we know several hs'd girls (short, small, & savvy) who travel alone into SF. No problems. I did do some research beforehand and it seemed most of the daytime crime is in the stations/parking lots; there is the usual rowdiness on the trains on weekend evenings. That said, we have a hs'ing friend whose husband is a BART policeman and she doesn't let her teenage daughter near BART, ever. I'm hoping that's because she hears all the horror stories, which we don't, but even then, the actual risk for a particular person is quite small (daily ridership is over 300,000). Sorry this got long! but it has been the subject of impassioned debates among us hs'ing mothers here :001_smile: I've also been influenced by the "Free Range Kids" mom's story. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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