Barcelona children take a “bike bus” to school.
Barcelona, Spain.
In Spain, children and their families cycle to school in large groups. The program is called “bicibús” or cycle bus. In Barcelona, the program recently started with just five children and quickly grew to hundreds of riders.
In the Exemplary area of Barcelona this fall, children have a new way to go to school on Fridays – they ride their bikes. In September, a group of five children cycled to school on Friday with their parents. Soon the group grew to 150 or more.
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The Eixample Bike Bus starts at 8:25 a.m. every Friday. The path it will follow is always pre-arranged so that everyone knows where to participate. bicibús starts with just a few students and parents, with maximum travel.
Most children ride their bikes, but others ride scooters or use skaters. Instead of riding bikes on sidewalks or sidewalks, the bus covers the whole street. With music and bicycle bells ringing, 22 just feels like a feast.
Being able to ride with a set of kids is a big part of the fun. “The best part of the bike bus is that we ride with our friends and pick it up and we ride together,” says nine-year-old Maria Patarch.
Eixample bicibús goes to different schools. When students get to their school, they get off the bus and park their bikes. As soon as they came to work on Friday, some parents made a fuss.
At first it was possible to go to school by bicycle in Eixample, but it was not really safe for children. There are a few bike lanes, but there are also lots of cars. About 20,000 cars and motorbikes ply daily on one of the main roads used by the Eixample bicibús.
As it is a busy street, the local police help stop the traffic by driving in front and behind the bus.
Otherwise, hopefully bicibús can help change the way people in the city think about behavior. They want the city to have wider, more child-friendly bike lanes that are separate from car traffic. Twenty-two buses also help reduce pollution, he says.
Recently, Eixample bicibus’ photos and videos received a lot of attention when they posted on the social media site Twitter. Many people pointed out what a simple idea it is, and how easy it is to get started.
Although some other areas of Barcelona also provide bicycle buses. An estimated 1,000 people cycle in the area each week, an administrator said. Some bicycle buses are also organized in other countries.
Barcelona is not the first 22 buses so far.
The idea has been around for a while. Bicycle buses have been plying Madrid and other parts of Spain for years. Most bicycle buses are smaller than Eixample buses, and have parents on their backs and in front of the police.
In Spain, children and their families cycle to school in large groups. The program is called “bicibús” or cycle bus. In Barcelona, the program recently started with just five children and quickly grew to hundreds of riders.
In the Exemplary area of Barcelona this fall, children have a new way to go to school on Fridays.
Most children ride their bikes,
but others ride scooters or use skaters. Instead of riding bikes on sidewalks or sidewalks, the bus covers the whole street. With music and bicycle bells ringing, 22 just feels like a feast.
Being able to ride with a set of kids is a big part of the fun. “The best part of the bike bus is that we ride with our friends and pick it up and we ride together,” says nine-year-old Maria Patarch.
Also read: Barcelona children
