Back To School By Bike

The topic of getting kids back to school this fall has been political, heartfelt, and intense. There are many options, many forms, and many concerns about the safety not just getting kids back into crowded classrooms, but even safe ways to get them to the building. 

Across the country, school districts are slowly rolling out plans to bring kids back from what was an unprecedented break from normal studies. Many students left the classroom in mid to late March, and most school districts stuck with virtual learning formats throughout the spring. The hope was always that conditions would allow for a safe return to classrooms by August and September, when schools typically reopen. 

With thirty five states seeing an increase in coronavirus cases in the final week of July, even the best laid plans have had to be thrown out. Many schools are agonizing over the format of fall classes, deliberating in-person classes with strict safety measures, a hybrid format to include limited in-person classes, or lessons completely online and at home. Some of the biggest school districts in the country, including those of Los Angeles, have already announced their move to at-home learning. 

But what’s been missing in a lot of these plans is transportation. Packing forty to sixty kids on a single school buses for, in many cases, over an hour, negates almost any measures set in place at the school building itself. Additionally, schools are facing historic budget shortfalls, making the purchasing of new buses or more drivers equally difficult. 

Even with strict measures in place, many parents simply won’t be able to put their child on a bus in good conscience. Much like essential workers and other adults, children may need to find an alternative to public transportation. One solution is the humble bicycles. 

For years, programs like Safe Routes To School have encouraged and empowered students to pedal to class, leaning on National Bike To School Days to raise awareness and inviting local advocates to influence decision makers to create safer cycling infrastructure. Now, those efforts might be even more crucial to supporting more students riding to school to avoid large groups of kids. 

Right now, only 12% of American school children ride their bikes to school. For some perspective, that’s down from 48% in 1969. While the number of kids riding the bus has essentially remained static over that time period, parent drop-off by car has increased by 33%. 

There are plenty of other benefits from riding to school, including improved focus and retention, not to mention the environmental impact of taking cars off the road and out of the miles-long drop-off line. But now, efforts like this could also reduce the risk of coronavirus spread and help focus busing strategy to those who simply live too far to ride in. 

Schools can support and invest in cycling as a transportation option, and there may be no better time to focus on pedaling that during a pandemic.