At times it feels like a Catch-22 - the roads are getting more dangerous for kids, so more parents drive them to school. Then the roads are even more dangerous, and so on. Not only does schooltime add to daily congestion and pollution, children are having less exercise, they are more isolated from their friends, and they lose their independence.
Now there is a way out, and everyone can be a winner. By setting up a “walking bus”, children can be escorted safely to school by trusted adults, usually parents working on a rota. This scheme is already working at many schools in the UK, and Friends of the Earth Guernsey wish to help schools and parents set up their own walking buses for Guernsey schools.
For the kids they can all go to school together, meeting up with friends along the way. Because the bus has a “driver” and a “conductor” safety is taken care of, and this is an ideal opportunity to teach good road sense, which will make the kids less dependent on “mum’s taxi” at other times.
For the parent volunteers the benefit is that they can see for themselves that safety is maintained, and with only a few needed each day, they can take it in turns. Imagine that - days off from the school run. And if you’re worried about the weight of the modern school bag, why not use a hand trolley as a “luggage compartment”?
So far the schemes in the UK have proved very popular, and with a little organisation they could be made to work here, too. Friends of the Earth Guernsey has written to all junior school headteachers or Parent-Teacher Associations about this scheme, and sent them an information pack which includes a guide to setting up local buses. If you are interested, please talk to your school, or contact FoEG.
What is A Walking Bus?Put simply, the walking bus is a bus which walks - a line of children, walking in pairs to school along a set route with an adult ‘driver’ at the front and ‘conductor’ at the back. There’s nothing new about parents walking each other’s children to school but the walking bus creates a more formal system which allows just a few volunteers to walk larger numbers of children to school. Like a bus there are scheduled bus stops where children are picked up at specific times. So, like a bus, you can miss it. But the similarities end there - unlike a bus it is free, healthy, totally non-polluting and you don’t have to wait around for hours until three turn up at the same time! |
Six reasons for starting a walking bus2. It’s healthy 3. It’s enjoyable 4. It’s non-polluting 5. It reduces chronic congestion around the school 6. It saves time and money |
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“I used the walking bus for nine months but now I’m walking to school
on my own. I liked walking to school with all my friends and because I walked
with lots of people, it didn’t seem to take very long to get to school at all.
I was taught how to cross roads safely and now I walk to school with two
friends who used to be part of the walking bus. I give the walking bus 10 out
of 10 because it helped me to walk to school on my own.” |
