You rub your eyes groggily as you awaken to another day of school. Standing out in the freezing cold you can’t help but wonder when your bus will arrive. You shiver, checking your watch again, and ask yourself whether it would have been faster to catch the Metro. Be careful what you wish for.

Due to severe budget shortfalls within Seattle Public Schools almost 4,000 high school students may be riding the Metro by fall 2006. Considered as part of an ongoing effort to cut district spending, the plan would drop most if not all of the 130 yellow bus routes currently operating in favor of issuing students a monthly bus pass.

Out of an estimated 6,100 students who are eligible for busing, about 3,900 are currently on the yellow-bus system. By cutting all 130 of its bus routes, the district would save $1.6 million annually, minus the $700,000 — $940,000 cost of buying Metro bus passes.

How would this affect you? Well, if you’re one of the majority of students living outside a 2.5 mile walk zone, you may find yourself getting to school on your own instead of hopping on a familiar yellow bus in the morning. And chances are that your new route of getting to Garfield won’t coincide with the old one.

Plus, the Metro buses make stops more frequently, lengthening the time it takes to get anywhere. If the plan goes through, it might be time to set your alarm earlier.

“Eliminating the yellow bus system, for many students, would decrease punctuality of students who live further away,” says Garfield senior Sheldon Botler. “Also, not all buses run a straight route, many have to transfer.”

However, Metro has expressed concern that the dramatic change could overload the current transit system and suggested that the district implement the program on “an incremental basis,” with reimbursement for any added buses or routes.

Other issues concerning safety have arisen from parents worried about students transferring buses on dark winter mornings.

“I think they should explore any option that could potentially save money and still provide safe transportation for the kids,” says Sherry Carr, president of the Seattle Council PTSA.

In additional efforts to reduce district spending, another plan has been considered that would ease transportation costs by assigning students of all grades to neighborhood schools. This school-choice plan would not influence the switch over to Metro busing.

About 1,700 students in the Seattle school district, including some at Nathan Hale already receive free Metro passes.