CRC - Ride to School

Over the last 30 years, the proportion of children walking and cycling to school has plummeted. Increasing numbers of children are now being driven to and from school. As we become more aware of the importance of regular exercise, built-in to everyday living, this level of car use has began to be questioned by public health professionals and transport planners. It is estimated that some 20% of morning peak hour traffic congestion is made up of parents driving their children to school. For these reasons, a concerted effort is underway to encourage children to ride to school.

Australia

FREEDOM WHEELS® Modified Bike Service
The FREEDOM WHEELS customised bike program is a joint undertaking by TADNSW and Amway’s One by One Foundation, giving many children with disabilities the opportunity to ride a bike for the first time.
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Kids Cycle To School and Parents Risk Being Reported to Social Services
Warren McLaren, 6 July 2010, Australia: TreeHugger - Cars & Transportation (bikes)
Almost a year ago we asked the question, When Should Tykes Be On Bikes?. Now in the UK the question is being asked, When Should Kids be Allowed to Ride to School -- Alone?
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TravelSmart Schools
TravelSmart Queensland
Information on Queensland’s TravelSmart Schools program.
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- TravelSmart curriculum resource for teachers.
  Schools around Australia have opportunities to learn about and engage in healthier and more sustainable travel options through innovative programs and curriculum.
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- TravelSmart, 2007, TravelSmart Education, Department of Infrastructure, Victorian Government.
  This webpage outlines the Victorian Government’s TravelSmart Education program; run in two separate streams, schools and universities.
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- TravelSmart Western Australia, website, How can your school be TravelSmart.
  Information on Western Australia’s TravelSmart Schools program.
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Bikes in indigenous communities
Bicycle South Australia
Bikes-in-Schools program gets kids riding to school. Research shows this significantly improves the overall physical and mental health of families and associated community networks.
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Circle of Courage Cycle Tour
6 May 2005, Adventist News Network
The cyclists from the Circle of Courage Cycle Tour finished their 31 day ride across Australia to address issues of at-risk behaviour among young people in small, rural communities on the afternoon of May 5. The six cyclists were welcomed by the City of Sydney Councillor Marcelle Hoff, together with representatives from the sponsors of the tour and friends and family, at the steps of the Sydney Town Hall.
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Ride2School Program
Ride2School program is a behavioural change program which aims to increase the number of students walking and riding to school. The program provides a 15 step guide for establishing a Ride2School program for schools. Selected schools can also receive expert assistance to encourage more children to cycle to school.
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- National Ride2School Day and Future Directions
  Over 400 NSW schools have already registered to participate in National Ride2School Day on Wednesday 17 March, Australia's largest celebration of walking and riding to school. A school kit is available upon registration. A recent review of Australian active travel data has highlighted future directions for promoting active travel for children and young people.
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- Ride2School Program - Victoria
  Bicycle Victoria Annual Report 2006-2007
  More students riding and walking more often to school.
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Australian Department of Health and Aging - Early Childhood Nutrition (2009)
Provides families with practical information and advice to support healthy eating and encourage physical activity in young children.
- Get Up & Grow: Healthy Eating and Physical Activity for Early Childhood - Directors/Coordinators Book
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- Get Up & Grow: Healthy Eating and Physical Activity for Early Childhood - Staff/Carers Book
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- Get Up & Grow: Healthy Eating and Physical Activity for Early Childhood - Family Book
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Trends in Australian children traveling to school 1971-2003: burning petrol or carbohydrates?
van der Ploeg HP, Merom D, Corpuz G, Bauman AE. Preventive Medicine 2008;46:60–62.
The importance of physically active forms of transport for human and environmental health is well known (Dora, 1999). The rise in childhood obesity has increased the relevance of how children commute to and from school (Anderson & Butcher, 2006). Data from the UK have suggested that the proportion of children actively commuting to school has been decreasing over the years, while the proportion of children that takes the car to school has increased (Black et al., 2001). However, there are no population studies that have estimated changes in prevalence of active and inactive commuting to school over several decades based on comparable data. The objective of this study was to determine how Australian children traveled to and from school between 1971 and 2003 using four representative population surveys.
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Children's Bicycling to After-School Activities: The Case of the Davis AYSO Bike-to-Soccer Program
Tal, G. & Handy, S. (2008) Institute of Transportation Studies, University of California, Davis, Research Report UCD-ITS-RR-08-08
One place where children might be expected to use non-motorized modes to get to after-school activities is Davis, CA, well-known as a bicycle-friendly community. Davis AYSO undertook a promotional program to encourage families to bike to games, including distribution of “Bike to AYSO” bike stickers, the creation of a special web site that included a Davis Bike Map, and e-mail announcements to almost all families about the “Bike to AYSO” effort. To evaluate the effectiveness of this program in encouraging players and their families to bike more frequently, Davis AYSO worked with researchers at the University of California, Davis.
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This report describes the methods used in that effort and summarizes the results.
Walking School Bus program
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The Walking School Bus Program (WSB) is a VicHealth initiative that’s giving communities an effective and easy way to get children walking to school again. There are more than 60 participating Council's Visit Site in Victoria.

Today in Victoria nearly one-third of all children spend less than 5 minutes walking per day. Inactive children are more likely to be overweight – with the proportion of Australian children who are in this category now reaching 25%. Walking to and from school gives children the opportunity to engage in regular physical activity. There is now data available View PDF on the success of the WSB program. A document illustrating the key learning's View PDF of of the WSB and an evaluation of the WSB program View PDF available.

Key outcomes, "It's more than just walking" is also available for download. View PDF
Streets Ahead: supporting children to get active in their neighbourhood
VicHealth developed the Streets Ahead program in 2008 to build on the successes of the Walking School Bus (WSB) program to allow for the development of more comprehensive and flexible children's independent mobility demonstration projects in five communities in Victoria.
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The Australian Bicycling Achievement Awards
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Award for an educational institution for innovation in encouraging cycling to school
the 2007 Winner: Newhaven Primary School, Victoria, with an honourable mention going to Warrnambool West Primary School Vic & Woodford Primary School, Warrnambool Vic. For details of the category details Visit Site
Active Transport for Childcare Centres: A CASE STUDY AND RESOURCE FOR COUNCILS
Partridge, E., (2007) Institute for Sustainable Futures, University of Technology, Sydney for SSROC
The project sought to explore and understand the reasons for current travel behaviour to and from Council preschools and childcare centres and the barriers to active transport. The Councils aimed to use this research to inform the development of interventions designed to increase the use of active transport. The project also aimed to build or strengthen partnerships between Council staff and childcare centre staff. This partnership approach intended to make use of Council resources to support interventions in the Centres and also to enable local active transport issues to be addressed in plans and strategies at the LGA level.
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New Zealand

Developing school-based cycle trains in New Zealand
A free download, research paper from the Department of Land Transport in New Zealand.
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‘I want to ride my bike’: overcoming barriers to cycling to intermediate schools
Hamish Mackie, August 2009, TERNZ Limited for NZTA, Document No. RR380
Transport modes such as walking and cycling, including cycling to school, could play a key role in combating obesity, climate change and traffic congestion as well as restoring ‘social capital’ within communities. The objective of this research was to identify the specific barriers to school students cycling to school for six intermediate schools and recommend interventions that would be effective, acceptable to parents and schools, and favourable to school students for each of the schools. View PDF

International

Sustrans Virtual Bike Race
Sustrans Bike It officers are running a nationwide Virtual Bike Race during March to celebrate 15 years of the National Cycle Network. Over 550 schools (thousands of children) will be taking part in the 8,408km race around the UK using routes on the National Cycle Network. Pupils, parents and teachers will earn 'virtual kilometres' each time they cycle to school.
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Child and Youth Friendly Land Use and Transport Planning: Guidelines and Literature Review
Developing guidelines for municipal transportation and land-use planners as tools to create communities that meet the needs of children and youth - and everyone else.
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More Schools Encourage Commuting by Bike
Joshua Brustein, 15 September 2009, The New York Times - Spokes
The tandem bicycle that Meghan Faux and her 7-year-old daughter Ryan use to get to school got a flat tire last week on the first day of classes. No matter. The next day Ms. Faux arrived at Public School 261 in Boerum Hill, Brooklyn, with Ryan following closely on a trail-a-bike, a child-size bicycle frame that attaches to the back of her mother’s bicycle.
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Buddy Bike
Bikes for people with special needs
The Buddy Bike - The Alternative Tandem Bicycle. The Buddy Bike is an inline tandem bicycle (bicycle for two) that places the stoker in the front seat while the rear rider controls the steering. It is shorter in length than a standard tandem and has a lower front seat so both riders can safely enjoy the view. The Buddy Bike can support up to 380 pounds; making it the ultimate family bike that can be enjoyed by riders of all ages and abilities. Its features make it especially beneficial for special needs children who otherwise would not be able to experience the thrill of riding a bicycle. Utilizing this unique patented design and quality bike parts, the Buddy Bike provides safety and REAL quality time!
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After School Bike Club at the Presidio YMCA
By Ben Caldwell Photography: Ben Caldwell
Carlos Ramirez, a Grade 6 student at Francisco Middle School, in San Francisco’s North Beach neighbourhood, thinks he’s lucky to attend his school. Why? “Bike club!” answers Juan in a heartbeat. Francisco is one of nine San Francisco middle schools where the Presidio Community YMCA runs its popular bi-weekly after-school bicycle clubs – in partnership with the city’s Municipal Transportation Agency and the San Francisco Bicycle Coalition. Francisco is also the only school in the city that has a bi-weekly bike maintenance class. Juan and his bike club mates were riding all over the city after just a couple weeks of learning the basics of on-street bicycling and brushing up on their skills in the school yard. In bike shop class, Juan learned to build a bike from scratch, piece by piece, and in January, he reaped the fruits of that labour, “earning” the bike he built. Juan’s teachers love the bike club too. This fall, Juan’s grades fell, and though his teachers tried everything they could to engage him, nothing worked. Finally, they threatened to bar him from participating in bike club. That did it; his grades promptly went back up – and have stayed up since.
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Orlando Kids Take Back the Streets — By Bike
Sarah Goodyear, 10 December 2009, Streets Blog
"They want to ride to school. So they do."
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Pupils cycling in Wales triples
Sustrans, UK
Thousands of pupils in twenty-four schools across Conwy and Neath Port Talbot have improved their health, reduced their carbon emissions and cut local congestion since becoming involved with Bike It.
Bike It came to Wales in September 2008 and has achieved great results in its first year. Prior to Bike It only 13 per cent of children in Conwy and Neath Port Talbot cycled to school once a week. A year on, this has increased to 39 per cent and the number of children that never cycle to school has almost halved.
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New cycling culture for Nottingham students
Sustrans, UK
Cash strapped students in Nottingham can make their dwindling bank balances stay in the black for longer by travelling around the city for less.
Sustrans is lending its expertise to this city-wide project to get students on their bikes. Visit Site
Bike Bans: A Serious Threat to Safe Routes to School
Lily Bernheimer, 24 July 2009, StreetsBlog.org
This May, a bill surfaced in the U.S. Senate that would triple federal funding for Safe Routes to School programs. Livable Streets Community activists have been on the case this week, mobilizing support for the measure. In many communities, however, local policies also have to change to help kids get to school by walking or biking.
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April Streeter, 22 July 2009, "Japanese Bike Mamas Revolt - Government Relents (a Little)", Sweden: TreeHugger - Cars & Transportation includes video (3.39 mins)
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In Japan, sidewalk riding was one of the practices banned when the country reviewed its traffic laws. Along with that, however, the venerable urban biking tradition of moms (and some dads and grandparents) carrying two children on their low-slung safety bikes called 'mamachari' (Japanese slang term composed of 'mama' and 'charinko' or bike) for daily errands and school pickups also nearly became banned due to safety concerns. Outraged Japanese parents protested, and the government relented...at least a little. Click forward to see a fully pimped out mamachari bicycle and read more about Japanese cycling.
Ed Howarth, (2009) Sustrans launches the results of the first-ever Scottish national survey into school travel, 29 April 2009, Sustrans
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The ‘Hands Up' survey shows that 51.8 per cent of Scottish children travel to school by active travel methods such as walking cycling and scooter – more than those who travel by car, bus or taxi (47.7 per cent). The survey also shows that the number of Scottish children cycling and walking to school is higher than expected, with 2.8 per cent cycling and 48.3 per cent walking.
Campus encourages students to "just say no" – to cars
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Among the many choices Ripon College's class of 2012 will face is whether or not to bring a car to campus this fall. Those who pledge not to do so will receive a big incentive: a brand-new mountain bike to keep. Dubbed the "Ripon Velorution Program" (RVP), it is the first of its kind in the US.
Incoming students starting their first college semester at Ripon will have the option to sign an RVP pledge this spring saying that they will not bring a car to campus for the duration of the upcoming academic year. Those who participate will be given a brand-new Trek 820 mountain bike, a Trek Vapor helmet, and a MasterLock U-Lock to keep.
"Japan Mamachari Bicycles on Parade", Japanese mothers biking their children to school, (2007) (3.39 mins video) by softypapa
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Institute for Transport and Urban Policy, Fact Sheet - Safe Routes to Schools
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Oxfordshire County, United Kingdom - Travel Plans for School
We work with maintained, special and independent schools on their School Travel Plans, to make journeys to school active, safe and low-carbon. To find out more about School Travel Plans in Oxfordshire.
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Youth Engagement

IBPI RESEARCH DIGEST - Pedestrian and Bicycle Strategic Plan, City of Eugene & University of Oregon, U of O Community Planning Workshops
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In October 2006, the City of Eugene kicked off its first Pedestrian and Bicycle Strategic Plan with the Eugene Walking and Biking Summit. The summit marked the beginning of a yearlong public involvement process that includes a series of community workshops and focus groups. Workshop topics included Youth Safety and Education, Pedestrian and Bicycle Facilities and Infrastructure, Accessibility for Seniors and People with Disabilities, Education and Encouragement, and Bicycle Parking and Theft.
Velo.Info - Cycling and Young People
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This briefing identifies significant potential for increased levels of cycling amongst young people and emphasises the many benefits of encouraging this. Research Document (4 meg) View PDF
Horspool, B. (2007) TEMPTING TEENAGERS TO CYCLE - “CYCLING IS FOR EVERYONE” North Shore City Council Strategic Cycling Plan 2003, North Shore City - Local Government Authority, New Zealand
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The purpose of this study was to collect the opinions of Year 8, 9 and 10 students related to cycling to school. This was achieved through an extensive online survey of a total of 19 intermediate and secondary schools in North Shore City. Students answered the online questionnaire that contained a variety of questions related to cycling to school, including bike ownership and use, modes of travel to school, safety issues, facility issues and peer issues. A total of 2355 students, approximately 28% of the target population in North Shore City, responded to the survey.
AberdeenshireTP, September 2008, "Riderz at Old Rayne School", YouTube
Video (2:30 mins) - Visit Site

Cycling Scotland and Aberdeenshire Council cycling promotion at Old Rayne School, Aberdeenshire. A workshop followed the stunts, emphasising safety. See their blog - Visit Site