Half of Worcester schools have a Bike Bus
Bike Worcester is celebrating a new Bike Bus this month, at Cherry Orchard Primary School in the south of the city.
Joel Dennison, Bike Bus lead at Cherry Orchard Primary School said, “I’d watched the Red Hill Bike Bus meet outside my house last year and when my son started in Reception this September, we couldn’t wait to get involved. It was so easy to start one and great to see so many families interested when we arrived at school”.
Bee, a parent at Cherry Orchard Primary School supported the first one that took place on Monday 21st October and said, “We’re a family of confident cyclists but traveling on main roads and streets can be nerve wracking. Having the added safety of numbers and experienced volunteers made such a difference to our school run”.
The new Cherry Orchard Bike Bus
Bike Buses now operate in half of Worcester’s primary schools bringing us closer to our target of a Bike Bus serving all schools by next April to coincide with the World Bike Bus Summit in 2025, where Worcester is the host city. It’s expected to attract visitors from North America, Europe and other towns and cities in the UK. The summit is a grassroots initiative organised by Bike Bus volunteers from around the world to enable and encourage collaboration, knowledge exchange and connections. Its purpose is to create networks between advocates, ensuring Bike Buses continue to grow, creating energy and demand for politicians and decision makers to invest in safe routes for children. Previous summits have been held in Barcelona and Frankfurt.
Bike Worcester has an exciting programme of events to run alongside the summit, and anyone interested in finding out more should email dan@bikeworcester.org.uk
Rob Collier, Bike Bus Volunteer coordinator, said ‘My partner Katie and I started the first Bike Bus in March 2022, because it was something we wanted to do as a family. It has been amazing to see them grow and grow. We now have funding and resources to support families and schools to set up a Bike Bus at their school and our Bike Recycling project breaks down the financial barriers some families face to buying a bike. It just gets easier and easier to set one up.’
Bike Worcester has created videos showing how the Bike Bus model works in the city and a video celebrating success at the end of the school year in July, which captures the joy and happiness of traveling to school by bike.
Dan Brothwell, Chair of Bike Worcester, said ‘It’s really heart warming to see new Bike Buses springing up across the city and more and more families are choosing to ditch the car for their school runs. We’re really excited that Drakes Broughton Primary School has also recently come on board making them the first Bike Bus in Pershore. The movement just keeps getting bigger and bigger and we can’t wait to show off our Bike Bus families and volunteers to the rest of the world at the Summit in April next year.”
Councillor Elena Round, volunteer on the Cherry Orchard Bike Bus, said ‘I was so thrilled to hear about the new Cherry Orchard Bike Bus as many families had been asking me about it for a while. I jumped at the chance to volunteer for one near to me. The benefits for children, families and communities choosing active travel to get to school is something I want to support and be a part of’.
Please get in touch via our website or social media if you’d like to get started at your school; you can start a Bike Bus with a single family, and Bike Worcester can help provide volunteers to support you on your route to school.
