In my country there is no really the concept of the "school bus". Google Maps says I walked exactly 1.0 miles... climbing a mountain, because my school was in the freaking top of a mountain. In some parts climbs were so steep that nowadays there are escalators on the streets.

I did that from 4 to 18 yo. It did never bother me, sometimes I literally did the whole way back running non-stop for fun, it was kind of like a roller coaster. But:

- Weather was generally good

- I obviously didn't walk alone when I was 4 yo.

We don't even know the age of those kids. Maybe they will walk to school alone... when they are older.