Generally speaking, high school kids don’t like using a school bus to get to and from school. “They’d much rather drive their car,” said Sandy Brands, a member of the Garfield County Re-2 School Board.If the school bus is uncool, and a car is not part of the parental plan, students at the new Coal Ridge High School may have the option of hopping on a Roaring Fork Transportation Authority bus when the school opens in 2005.”This would be a good alternative for getting kids back and forth,” Brands said.The Roaring Fork Transportation Authority (RFTA) will discuss whether to put a bus stop at Coal Ridge High School during the authority’s Operations and Performance Oversight Committee meeting at 5:30 p.m. tonight in El Jebel.Coal Ridge High School will be located midway between Silt and Rifle on Highway 6 & 24. Brands said the school will be for 350 freshmen and sophomore students the first year, then add junior and senior grades the next two years.The Garfield County Planning and Zoning Commission asked RFTA to install a bus stop at the school when it recommended approval last year. Mike Davis, RFTA’s planning director, said the Coal Seam High School bus stop could tie in with other stops on the transportation system’s new Grand Hogback service, which runs between West Glenwood Springs and Rifle.Davis noted that the service depends on RFTA’s having enough money to keep running the Grand Hogback service.If RFTA adds a stop at the high school, it would be the first one dedicated to an Re-2 District school, Davis said.If the Operations Oversight Committee recommends approval, the Coal Ridge High School bus stop will be presented to the RFTA Board of Directors in February, Davis said.Brands said the school board supports the bus stop, but the main concern is placing the stop off Highway 6 & 24. “We need to find a safe place for it,” Brands said.Brands herself is a big fan of the Grand Hogback route, which went into service last April. She used the bus this week while her car was getting repaired in Glenwood Springs. “It’s real slick,” Brands said.Contact Lynn Burton: 945-8515, ext. 534lburton@postindependent.com