‘We move together’: Edmonton bike bus takes maiden voyage for back-to-school

A parent volunteer group of cyclists picks up and drops off bike-riding students at Edmonton's Rutherford School once a week. Sasha Pietramala reports.

A group of young bikers kicked off their school commute in south Edmonton with a new “bike bus,” a program trying to make peddling to school in large groups the norm.

Bike Bus Edmonton is a volunteer-led, non-profit initiative that includes both school-aged children and their parents to create “joyful, social and safe spaces.”

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“We’re big, we’re loud, we’re visible, we move together,” said organizer Kellen Westman. “It’s kind of a safety in numbers thing.”

The program’s first-ever ride was to Rutherford School on Tuesday morning.

Bike Bus is still testing its model, Westman said, but the idea is to get groups together every morning to ride pre-planned routes to school.

A parent of a kid in school himself, Westman said the benefits are endless.

“There’s a lot of research to suggest that engagement in school is a lot better when you’ve had an active start. It builds community … people are just having a great time,” he said.

Erica Hahn was one of the kids riding along with the bike bus, and she said she prefers it to getting dropped off because she gets to ride with her friends.

“It makes me sore,” is her only complaint.

Westman added safety is the priority. All the planned routes are on side roads and parent volunteers are dispersed throughout the group to ensure no kid is left behind.

Two of the kids on Tuesday morning took a bit of a spill – the whole group cheered them on when they got back up onto their bikes.

“They’re going to fall down once in a while, but kids fall. It’s not a big deal,” Westman said.

Although the bike bus only organizes once a week right now, Westman said the hope is to get kids organized in different schools every day so long as weather and safety permits.

“This should be the normal way that kids get to school every time,” he added.

With files from CTV News Edmonton’s Sasha Pietramala