Bike Bus gains supporters as a way to promote sustainable and safe mobility

The Bike Bus movement has become a powerful tool to promote road safety, sustainability and community. According to a global survey carried out by the Institute of Environmental Science and Technology of the Autonomous University of Barcelona (ICTA-UAB), the phenomenon has gained momentum worldwide in recent years, with more than 470 Bike Bus routes worldwide, transporting 32,000 children at school every week.

A Bike Bus is a group of children who, accompanied by their family members, travel by bike to school along a route with predetermined stops and times. The practice, which began in 1998 in Brecht, Belgium, became popular in 2021 when an initiative from Barcelona went viral on the Internet. The report, prepared by researchers from the BCN City Lab group at ICTA-UAB, analyzes the existing Bike Bus initiatives through interviews with the promoters of 93 Bike Bus routes in eight countries, collecting their characteristics, diversity, motivations, impacts and sustainability over time.

The results show that 94% of participants see Bike Bus as a form of activism, highlighting its role in promoting systemic changes in transport and demanding a more child-friendly city. Safety is the main concern, with 92% of respondents feeling unsafe to cycle to school without the protection of the group. The lack of adequate infrastructure and heavy traffic in their cities are some of the reasons.

The survey shows that 67% of the participants are the children, with an average age of 8 years. Although the routes are sometimes overcrowded, the groups consist of about 17 people (on average 10 children and 7 adults). On average, the routes are organized once a week and cover a distance of 1 to 2 kilometers on the road, which takes 20 minutes.

In terms of gender distribution, girls make up 47% of child participants. The insecurity expressed by the interviewees regarding their usual routes to school explains why 37% of Bike Bus participants are parents who accompany their children. I feel that cycle paths, where they exist, are too narrow, require advanced skill to navigate, and intersections are unsafe because car drivers do not wait for bicycles, especially bicycles for smaller children. Similarly, more than half of the respondents thought that bicycle parking was an obstacle to participate in this initiative.

“What started as a means to shelter children from traffic has evolved into a celebration of cycling and a way of demanding more child-friendly cities. They have proven to be an effective way of increasing the visibility of cyclists in the streets and to promote a sense of community”, explains Jordi Honey-Rosés, researcher at ICTA-UAB and head of the study.

Although the survey results show a significant increase in the use of Bike Bus, they also highlight future challenges regarding its long-term viability. Currently, most efforts are led and financed by individual leaders, which raises questions about their long-term institutional sustainability. The study therefore highlights the need for a larger government and financial support to formally integrate Bike Bus into school transportation systems. However, researchers warn of the delicate balance between institutional support and the active participation of parents and cycling activist groups.

“The Bike Bus is more than a means of transportation; it is a statement of principle about the importance of sustainable mobility and the safety of our children, and we hope that this study serves as a call to action for communities and governments around the world support and expand this transformative initiative,” concludes Honey-Rosés.