Over 300 children, parents and teachers took to the streets for a school run with a difference.
Organised by Sustrans, the UK’s largest walking, wheeling and cycling charity, children from Cardiff’s Radnor Primary School, Ysgol Treganna and Ysgol Pwll Coch on the biggest ever FRideDays Bike Bus.
They were joined by Sam ‘Coach’ Balto, the American PE teacher who became a household name when he convinced Justin Timberlake to join his bike bus in Portland, Oregon. Coach Balto is leading the way in this fast-growing movement.
Sustrans supports communities to organise Bike Buses through its FRideDays initiative, which is sponsored by Schwalbe Tyres UK Limited.
Bike buses are group rides where children, families and friends cycle together along a set route, making the journey to school active, fun, and sustainable. The FRideDays Bike Bus Project empowers more families to embrace cycling by providing free resources, training, and ongoing support for school communities across the UK.
Children arrive at school energised and happy when they travel by bike bus – they decorate their cycles, ride along to music and feel a sense of achievement and community before the school day even begins.
Sam ‘Coach’ Balto, co-founder of Bike Bus World, said: “It was exhilarating to be part of this huge bike bus and see first-hand the growing movement of Bike Buses around the globe. The children felt joy and freedom by cycling together en masse. Getting to school becomes a delight rather than a chore as part of a bike bus.
“Projects like FRideDays Bike Bus are pivotal. Together, we can pave the way for healthier, happier neighbourhoods that prioritise both the environment and community well-being.”
Hamish Belding, FRideDays Bike Bus coordinator at Sustrans, said: “Today’s joyous event aimed to highlight how riding together can encourage children on to their bikes for the school run. Fresh air, friends, and that feeling of freedom. That’s what the FRideDays Bike Bus is all about. It’s a fun way to make the benefits of cycling a regular part of the week.
For children, there’s nothing like cycling with friends by their side to get the day off to the best start.”
Today’s bike bus is an effective way to highlight key issues around the importance of travelling actively from a young age and overcoming some of the barriers to cycling. It comes in the wake of Sustrans’ Children’s Walking and Cycling Index, which revealed of the 1.36 billion trips that are walked, wheeled or scooted by children each year in the UK, most are made to and from school (38%),
Giving young people a voice, the new study also showed that 66% of children support closing streets outside schools to cars during school drop-off and pick-up.
By listening to young people, decision-makers can change how they approach children’s journeys so we can make walking, wheeling and cycling a more attractive, and everyday way for children to travel
Also cycling with the group were Xavier Brice (CEO, Sustrans), Dave Taylor (Managing Director, Schwalbe UK), Sarah Merry (Deputy Leader of Cardiff Council and Cabinet Member for Education), Dafydd Trystan (Chair of the Welsh Government’s Active Travel Board) and Natalie Grohmann (Head of Active Travel Policy, Welsh Government).
