British Columbia government forces Vancouver dad to end his kids' free-range city bus rides to school

British Columbia government forces Vancouver dad to end his kids' free-range city bus rides to school
Forget the facts. "For the past two years, Adrian Crook's four eldest kids (aged 7-11) have ridden Vancouver's public transit to school together, traveling as a group from the bus stop in front of his condo to the bus stop in front of their school. Crook's kids learned to ride the bus through a methodical process that started with full adult supervision that he gradually dialed down until the kids could make the whole, 45 minute ride on their own. The kids carry GPS-equipped phones that let him track them if they get off the bus early (and also helps him recover the phone if they lose it). There is no minimum age for kids to ride the Vancouver transit system on their own, and Crook gets fan mail from regular bus-riders to tell him what a well-behaved inspiration his kids are. Then, some anonymous person contacted the Ministry of Children and Family Development to complain that Crook was putting his children in harm's way. A social worker was appointed to look into Crook's case, and Crook presented a wealth of information to show that his kids were safe, Vancouver's buses were safe, and that everything was fine. In the end, the social worker admitted that Crook was right about everything...and that he'd have to stop letting his kids out of his sight unsupervised, anyway. They couldn't even play in the courtyard of his condo, let alone walk to the corner store, on their own."