Abu Dhabi Limits School Commutes to 75 Minutes

Shortening Long Journeys: Abu Dhabi's 75-Minute School Bus Limit for Children's Health

The start of the school year signifies excitement, new opportunities, and challenges for many families. However, for parents and children living in certain regions of the United Arab Emirates, the start of the academic year also brings less positive factors: long, time-consuming school bus journeys.

Abu Dhabi Emirate has taken concrete steps to reduce the duration of school commutes: according to guidelines from the Integrated Transport Centre (ITC), school bus travel time in one direction must not exceed 75 minutes. This new regulation aims not only at improving transport efficiency but primarily at serving the mental and physical well-being of children.

Why Are Long School Journeys a Problem?

Tackling long distances daily significantly burdens not only parents but also children. Traffic congestion, early departures, and late arrivals are increasingly exhausting for students. In the UAE, many families travel between different emirates—for instance, a child might study in Dubai while the family lives in Sharjah, leading to daily commutes that can take 1.5-2 hours each way.

Spending such amounts of time traveling is frustrating for adults, but according to doctors, the impact is much deeper and more worrisome for children. Beyond fatigue, it can lead to memory issues, concentration problems, and musculoskeletal concerns.

The Impact of Sleep Deprivation on Learning

One of the most severe consequences is sleep deprivation. Children aged 5–12 need 9–11 hours of sleep daily, but early waking and long school travels often prevent this. The lack of rest at night directly affects learning abilities, memory, and attention—the very skills essential for academic performance.

According to doctors, children suffering from chronic sleep deprivation are often tired, irritable, and struggle to acquire new knowledge. This can be especially dangerous for younger age groups when brain development is in an intense stage.

Physical Issues and Lack of Movement

Long travel times affect not only mental performance but also physical health. School bus seats are not always ergonomically designed, and daily two-hour sitting can lead to a lack of movement, back and knee pain, and poor posture.

Physical exercise and active play are essential for developing a child's muscles, coordination, and endurance. When travel takes up significant time from their daily schedule, it not only limits sports opportunities but also negatively impacts relaxation and social life after learning.

Changes in Eating and Hydration Habits

Long morning commutes cause many children to skip breakfast, further weakening their ability to concentrate. Some surveys indicate that 20–30% of children regularly miss breakfast, and these students tend to perform worse in school.

Hydration can also be problematic: many children don't drink enough during the journey because they don’t want inconveniences on the bus. Dehydration, however, also reduces mental performance and can contribute to headaches, drowsiness, or even nausea.

What Are the Warning Signs?

Health experts suggest that parents and teachers should pay attention to certain warning signs indicating the harmful effects of long commutes:

Frequent yawning, daytime sleepiness

Concentration difficulties

Irritability, mood swings

Headaches, nausea, back or neck pain

Decline in academic performance

These symptoms often cannot be directly traced to travel time, but if they regularly occur, parents might consider school changes or seeking other transport solutions.

Solution: The 75-Minute Limit

Abu Dhabi's decision to limit school bus travel time to 75 minutes is a welcome step. This measure requires schools to conduct transportation either with their own vehicles or approved transport partners, ensuring children's travel times are meaningfully reduced.

This not only increases educational efficiency but also contributes to the physical and mental well-being of students, potentially preventing numerous health issues in the long run. Through this new regulation, families and educational institutions can jointly take responsibility for improving the quality of life for children.

Summary

Long school commutes present a real challenge in many parts of the UAE. For the physical and mental health of children, it is crucial to ensure sufficient sleep, regular meals, and adequate movement. Abu Dhabi's 75-minute school bus time limit is an exemplary initiative, which may encourage similar measures in other emirates.

The future children can only become fully competent adults if we create conditions now that allow them to develop healthily, calmly, and balanced—and this starts on the way to school.

(The source of the article is the Integrated Transport Centre (ITC) statement.)