Walking school bus

Coordinators' guide

Full print version: The walking school bus (PDF, 636 KB, 24 pages)

2. Why set up a walking school bus?

Today, more than half of New Zealand primary school children are driven to and from school – that's nearly double the number from 10 years ago. And nearly one-third of New Zealand children get very little or no exercise.

There is also growing concern about traffic congestion caused by vehicles around the school gate, which often creates an unsafe environment for children crossing the road and getting in and out of vehicles.

The walking school bus is an ideal solution to all of these problems.

Children love being part of walking school buses – they enjoy the exercise and meeting new friends along the way. Teachers often report that children arrive at school invigorated and ready to learn. All children are looked after by the parent volunteers who ensure they arrive at school or at the ‘bus stop’ safely. (In this guide, ‘parent/s’ is an inclusive term meaning all caregivers, legal guardian or otherwise, who have a role in determining a child's school journey.)

A walking school bus eases traffic congestion around the school grounds (every child walking to school potentially represents one less car on the road) and also provides a safe and environmentally friendly journey for children to and from school.

How it works

Each ‘bus’ walks along a set route with at least one adult ‘driver’, picking children up at designated stops and walking them to and from school. Some buses pick up children from outside their house, while other buses have bus stops for children to meet up with their bus. The process is then reversed in the afternoons.

The bus can be fl exible to suit the needs of the families using it. The bus can go as often as parents want to ‘drive’ it, and children can use it every day or once a week, according to their family schedules. And it's free.

From what age can children walk on the bus?

The bus is for children of all ages. However, schools have found that five to eight year olds are most likely to use the service. At this age, children often lack the necessary road safety skills and are at greater risk of being injured crossing the road alone. By regularly walking on the bus, they have the opportunity to develop sensible road safety behaviour and hopefully establish the essential skills for when they walk independently.

There are many walking school buses operating around the country. Some schools in Christchurch and Auckland have networks of up to six walking school buses, walking diff erent routes almost every day. There are walking school buses in Australia, North America, the UK and Europe.

What parents tell us

“From our experience, the walking school bus has only been a positive thing. It gets all of us walking more and the children don't complain about walking like they used to.”

“Socially it's great because the children meet other children that they otherwise would've known only by sight. My children have formed some good friendships because of the walking school bus. The adults get to know each other better too!”

“Parents no longer have to get their children to and from school every day. On days I'm not rostered on I get an extra hour or so at the end of the day to myself. On days the weather is too bad to walk, we are still better off because we usually carpool with the other families on the walking school bus.”

“Our walking school bus works for families who use it morning and/or afternoon, and families who use it only one or two days a week. I believe the more families involved the better. If you have five-plus families in your group, there's more flexibility with the roster.”

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Page created: 8 July 2008