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https://reasonstobecheerful.world/students-ditch-school-buses-for-bicycles-in-barcelona/>
"With breakfast finished and backpacks prepped for the day, children across
Spain’s Barcelona province strap on their helmets and, at around 8 a.m., head
to school not by bus or car, but in a critical mass of bikes dubbed “bicibús.”
As with traditional bus lines, each bicibús route has stops where other cycling
students can join along the way. Parents, teachers and other volunteer adults
ride, too, to ensure the kids’ safety.
Bicibús is just a couple years old, but already more than 1,200 kids pedal
90-plus routes to more than 70 schools across 25 cities in Catalonia.
(Barcelona is one of four provinces in the region, in addition to being a major
city.) Biking in groups increases awareness of riders on the road, especially
where dedicated infrastructure is lacking. And families around the world, from
Portland, Oregon to Edinburgh, Scotland, have embraced this commuting
alternative.
“The idea for bicibús came from the mix of my two passions: the bike and
education,” says Helena Vilardell, the elementary school teacher who started
bicibús in February 2020 in Vic, a town of just over 45,000. She subsequently
launched the nonprofit Canvis en Cadena (“change in chain”) to widely promote
bicycles as a healthier, more sustainable commute for all. Fewer gas-powered
vehicles on the road decreases pollutants that contribute to unhealthy air and
climate change. The bicibús movement has prompted local governments to install
bike lanes and assign city police as safety escorts."
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
