Kids in Portland, Oregon, take a ‘bike bus’ to school » Yale Climate Connections

Each week, kids at Alameda Elementary School in Portland, Oregon, pedal to school together in what they call a bike bus.

This parade of bicycles has a set route, and kids and parents join the growing caravan along the way.

PE teacher Sam Balto organized the bike bus a few years ago.

Balto: “It was a huge success. We had 75 kids and we continued to do it every Wednesday for the following school year.”

By encouraging biking instead of driving, bike buses can limit planet-warming carbon pollution.

Balto also says that as more people ride together, biking becomes safer. Cars slow down and give the large group space. And the kids benefit all day.

Balto: “It’s well researched that children do better academically when they’re physically active before school. They have better social connections, they get in trouble less, it helps with their confidence and focus during the school day.”

Balto has now launched a nonprofit to advocate for safer bike infrastructure and offer advice to people who want to start their own bike buses.

He says all you need to get going are a few kids and parents who start riding to school together.

Balto: “And if you’re consistent and inclusive, it will grow.”

Reporting credit: Ethan Freedman / ChavoBart Digital Media