I'm not suggeting a bus that only goes to your friend's farm. It could be a (small) bus that passes very close, or that goes to a series of neighboring farms.

I'm not suggeting a bus that only goes to your friend's farm. It could be a (small) bus that passes very close, or that goes to a series of neighboring farms. The point is not that this is available today, as we clearly live in a very car-centric culture and no one is planning this type of small scale public transit. But it's not at all inherently impossible, it could well be achieved, especially where you're still near to a major city. In my country for example there is public transport for taking kids from small (and very poor) villages that don't have their own school to neighboring villages that do - and that's much more feasible and much more economical than expecting each family to buy and maintain their own car and gas, and to drive each child individually to school in the morning, then to drive back to school in the afternoon, pick them up, and drive back. And the kids are much more independent by having access to this than if they had to synchronize with their parents.