Every Friday in Glasgow, these kids go to school on the "bike bus". We have a set route, we give it a set time and there are stops on the way so that's why we're like a bus. We started really small we were just five families and now we average about 50 to 60 of us.
The way that it's brought kind of community and joy and the way we have been able to talk about the space that our kids need in our cities to just ride their bikes or do what they want to do has surpassed any of my expectations. I love the bike bus because I can chat with my friends and it's a fun way to get to school. It's good for your body and it's also good for the environment.
When I get to school I don't get sleepy anymore. the first time I went on the bike The first time I went on the bike bus I was a bit nervous I thought there's a lot of children here some of them are really small surely people are just going to be crashing into each other this is a bit terrifying but actually all the kids know they just have to keep a bit of space around them the grown-ups are between the kids and the traffic and actually it's fine. Bike buses became popular in the Spanish town of Vic in 2021.
and since then they've been spreading all over the world. But only in Glasgow, do they have a special gadget. .
. which lets them control the traffic lights. When I press this button it holds a green light instead of having 10 seconds we then have 45 seconds to move the bike bus through the junction safely.
But the bike bus isn't just a fun way of getting to school. It shouldn't be this hard for a kid to cycle to school every week it's like a gentle protest right every week we take up that space and we're on the roads with our kids in a way that's joyous but it's also about doing something that's not typical and I think all of us love the bike bus but we'd also love it not to have to exist.
