ALBUQUERQUE, NM — A mother is expressing frustration after she says Albuquerque Public Schools changed her child’s bus route.

She lets her child walk down a busy street alone.

“State law says we can’t even leave our children alone in the safety of their own homes until they’re at least 11 years old. But we want them to walk blocks and blocks just to get to a public school? That doesn’t make sense to me,” said Vannessa Mellone, a frustrated Albuquerque Public Schools parent.

Mellone said APS closed a bus stop just eight houses away from her home.

“We always had three bus stops in the neighborhood, so the kids didn’t have to travel far from home to get the bus. But they got rid of all the bus stops and put a central bus stop right in the middle of the neighborhood,” she said.

Mellone said she heard from them that this was because only five children were served at the stop.

When the sign disappeared, her young student had to walk down Juan Tabo Boulevard, between four to six lanes of rushing traffic, to get to her bus stop, she said.

She found this unsafe.

“The children therefore have to walk a long way to get to the bus. And these are small children, elementary school-age children, who really shouldn’t be left unsupervised like that,” she said. “And it’s terrible that my child has to walk without a barrier between her and the passing cars.”

Mellone contacted APS. She said a staff member called her on Wednesday and told her they would reinstate the bus stop.