In days gone by children used to walk miles and miles to school and back each day, often without shoes! And perhaps in your childhood you walked or biked to school alone or with your neighbours and siblings. But in today’s busy world it’s not so common. Kids still love to ride bikes and a recent survey revealed that many would love to walk to school, however 3 out of 5 are commonly driven.
In order to help kids move more as they get to and from school, a new “walking buses” program is taking off around the globe. Come for a ride as we take you through this innovative concept.
What’s it all about?
It starts with an interested school community and often quickly grows into a fleet of walking buses. With an adult ‘driver’ at the front and an adult ‘conductor’ at the back, the walking bus of around 12 children follows a designated route to school. New passengers are picked up or dropped off (at the end of the school day) at bus stops. A bus stop can be a common corner for a few neighbourhood houses or it may be that your own front gate is a bus stop.
Risky business?
The bus route is carefully planned to minimise traffic hazards and the adult bus staff usually wear bright protective clothing. The program is run to a roster and co-coordinated through the school so that all parents and other volunteers are fully registered and part of the community, which takes care of the threat of stranger danger when children walk unsupervised.
Why does it work?
Parents love the idea of their children being active and walking to school and also sharing the load of doing the school drop off. Kids love the social aspect of walking and talking with friends. And the school benefits from the growing community involvement.
But as the bus runs on motivation and not petrol, at times the people on the bus can go up and down. So, it’s recommended that you keep the program running with added fun activities, community sponsorship and school activities like “naming the bus competitions” or “decorating your bus stop”.
For further information: www.vichealth.gov.au follow the links to ‘Local government’ and ‘Walking school bus’.
