Stratford school pupils get onboard with the Bicycle Bus

THE school commute for a lot of children consists of sitting in a car or on a bus, more often
than not in traffic. Opportunities to safely cycle to school can be rare, but an initiative is helping students at one Stratford district school shake up the way they travel.

The bicycle bus aims to get more children biking to school. It encourages both parents and children to ride their bikes to schools, picking up riders along the way at pre-determined spots.

Once a week, a bicycle bus helps to transport students to Alveston Primary School.

Simon Storey created the bus and the idea has been taken up across the country.

Simon, who is a British Cyc-ling coach, told the Herald: “Last week was the third running of the Alveston Bicycle Bus, we had 18 join us in the second week. We ride two a breast, so this one was nine cyclists long which takes up roughly the size of a large vehicle on the road, like a bus or a lorry.

“If we’ve got a slow rider, we all travel at that speed because what we don’t want to do is split the group because all that does is invite drivers to overtake. As an initiative, if it carries on, which we hope it will, they can apply for funding to get things like high-vis clothing and that sort of thing.

“As a ride leader I have high-vis on and I have lights on. I ride at the back of the group so I can see what’s happening in front of me but also I’m warning the drivers behind that we’re in the road.”

Simon got the idea for the original bicycle bus back in 2020 after attending a webinar through his work with British Cycling.

“I had set up a website and a Facebook page at that point and so people were searching about it and finding me. So I was giving a bit of information to various people and helping a number of people all across the country.

“Fast forward a couple of years and I have a not-for-profit organisation called Cycle Infinity, which is a CIC.”

The positives of the programme are plentiful, according to Simon. “You’re taking cars off the road, so you’re reducing congestion,” he added.

“You’ve got less pollution in the air, so you’re cleaning up the air quality around schools. You’re reducing the number of cars that are parked around schools, because that’s always an issue at pick up and drop off times. There’s just so many benefits.”

Simon added that this is the ninth bicycle bus route he’s started, and talks with Stratford Primary School would make that the tenth.