Bike Bus Edmonton offers community ride to school

Some students in central Edmonton are finding a new way to go to school. Bike Bus Edmonton — a new pilot project is helping students make their trip to school more active by using bikes.

Twenty parents have signed up for this pilot project, where a community of cyclists help kids bike to school safely as a big group, with planned stops to pick up more families along the five-kilometre route, essentially acting as a school bus.

The volunteer-led non-profit initiative is not just about getting kids to school, it is also about creating a joyful, safe space where kids, parents and neighbours can connect and showing children that they can move through our city with confidence and independence.

On Tuesday morning, around 20 kids took their first ride under this initiative.

Eight-year-old Erika and five-year-old Ethan love the change in pace of biking to school, even though it makes them sore. “Oh, they asked all the time. Can we please go for a bike ride? We have way more conversations when we’re on the bike,” Christina Hopkins, Ethan and Erika’s mother, explained.

Bike bus founder Kellen Westman says the bike bus promotes healthy living and the benefits of cycling to school compared to a traditional school bus or a car drop-off.

“It’s a healthy start for the day. I mean, aside from all the environmental benefits, there’s a lot of traffic, congestion, and things like that. It’s a lot of fun, and it’s a healthy start, so it helps the engagement at school and helps build community. I mean, you saw how many community members came out here today,” said Westman.

The bike bus was inspired by similar programs in other countries. Organizers are starting with the Rutherford School in central Edmonton, but hope to scale up.

“We’re not just riding. We’re building a movement, so we’re trying to get all the schools to have a bike bus,” said Westman.

Once at school, kids celebrated their first bike bus with stickers and granola bars.

For Erika, the bike bus is now her preferred way to get to school.

“I usually have to wake up around 6:45 a.m. to go to school, because my parents have to be at work by 8:00,” said Erika.

Her mother added, “We have way more conversations when we’re on the bike. I know my daughter. She’s like a stream of consciousness. We just had a great time.”

Organizers say they will bike to Rutherford School every Tuesday, and plan to expand to Westglen School by next spring.