For years, traveling to school has created lifelong memories. Whether that includes waving to parents as the bus drives away, hopping in a car and chatting about trivial things with a carpool buddy or parents, or walking to school shivering while discussing plans for the weekend, the journey to school is a memory that almost everyone can relate to. Students and parents in Barcelona are using this commute to school to create a wider movement, advocating for a reduced carbon footprint, building a wider sense of community, and promoting healthy habits.

While this movement began with just five families, hundreds are now traveling to school together on bikes, scooters, and skateboards. Organized by an advocacy organization called Changes in Chain, this program operates on a set schedule and allows parents to monitor the safety of their children through the Bicibus app. At the moment, there are around three breaks at schools where students are dropped off and picked up per bus line; currently, there are 40 bus lines and 790 participants although the program continues to grow.   

This commute to school is completely safe as local police escort the students in addition to parents, many of the riders wear bright-colored Bicibus jerseys to be easily seen by cars, and there is a strict monitoring system making sure that all kids are accounted for. 

In addition to gaining attention from the wider community, this program rethinks public space, reduces Barcelona’s carbon footprint, promotes healthy habits, and enhances the sense of community. Parent Mireia Broix expresses her thankfulness for the program and discusses the emotions that she and other parents have experienced as a result of Bicibús, or the Bike Bus, “We have all felt emotional in one of the rides at some point. It is a group of people convinced that things can be done a bit differently.” 

This Bike Bus program is a perfect example of a simple change impacting communities for the better. Who would’ve thought that a large group of people riding to school together would have garnered so much attention and been hailed as such a genius idea?

Sources:

https://www.npr.org/2021/10/22/1047341052/barcelona-bicibus-kids-parents-bike-ride-to-school

https://momentummag.com/barcelona-bicycle-school-bus-program-a-hit/