Walking buses

What is a walking bus?

A walking bus is a service supported and operated by the school community. It identifies opportunities for walking the school journey and provides trained volunteers to guide and supervise children travelling to and from school.

The children walk in a crocodile fashion with the 'driver' at the front and the 'conductor' at the back. Children are collected at pre-arranged stops along the route at specific times, similar to a normal bus route.

Children are escorted safely into school and delivered to the teachers concerned. All children and volunteers are required to wear high-visibility fluorescent yellow waistcoats at all times on the journey.

A member of the Road Safety Team assists at all times in setting up and monitoring the scheme. A Road Safety Officer, a Road Traffic Engineer and the Police check the proposed route. In addition every volunteer is required to have a Criminal Records Bureau check. The children’s safety is paramount.

A sufficient volunteer to child ratio is essential and each volunteer will receive appropriate training. All parents are required to sign a consent form for their child participating in the walking bus, with an emergency contact number and agreeing that their child will behave in a sensible manner.

Each walking bus has a drivers licence listing the participants for each day and the school office is informed should a child not arrive at their specified 'bus stop'. It is the responsibility of the parent/guardian to wait with the child until the arrival of the walking bus, so that no child is left unattended at any time. It is also the parent’s responsibility to dress their child according to weather conditions.

The walking bus is an ideal vehicle to help reduce school run congestion and the associated pollution. Parents requiring their cars can drive their child to a pre-arranged 'bus stop' and once the walking bus has collected their child, the parent can continue their journey without congesting the area around the school gates. Children love the walk to school and in addition learn essential pedestrian and road safety skills.

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What are the benefits?

Walking bus schemes can provide many benefits to children, their parents and the school. To make it easier for you to find the information you are looking for we have listed the headings below:

• Advantages for parents
• Advantages for children
• Advantages for schools
• Notes to remember

Advantages for parents

• Parents can leave their child with the walking bus at a designated 'pedestrian bus stop' and know they will arrive safely at school and be escorted to the meeting 'stop' when school has finished.
• Parents are not required to volunteer to be a 'driver' or 'conductor' on the walking bus every day - they can elect to help any number of sessions in a week. It can be arranged to fit around their work, on a rota, or as a job share with another parent.
• Parents who need their cars can drive their child to a 'bus stop' and once the walking bus has collected their child the parent can continue their journey.
• Working parents can take time getting to work instead of rushing as often school and work start times are very close together.
• Fewer parents driving to school make the area around the school gates a safer place for the children.
• Parents can save as much as half an hour every morning and evening - that’s a staggering five hours a week.
• Parents will no longer need to arrive at the school gates half an hour before school has finished in order to find a place to park.

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Advantages for children

• Children love activity, walking to school (and home again) gives them additional exercise.
• Walking helps to build strong bones.
• Children love to socialise, the walk to school enables them to talk with their friends, so that by the time class starts they are more ready to settle down to work.
• The walk to school enables the walking bus volunteers to talk about the local environment along the route, eg plants, trees, birds, weather, road signs, road dangers, some of which may be linked to school projects.
• Walking to school can be a fun way to learn maths and english - recognising house numbers, reciting tables or learning spellings.
• Regularly walking to school encourages children to gain a better knowledge of road safety and pedestrian skills.
• Teachers notice that children who walk to school settle down to work quicker and produce a better quality of work with a higher degree of imagination.
• Children whose parents volunteer as a 'driver' or 'conductor' on the walking bus will receive priority for a place on the bus.

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Advantages for schools

• Less traffic congestion around the school gates, helping to maintain good relations with neighbouring residents.
• Less pollution surrounding the school and promoting a green image.
• Less danger for the children.
• Supporting the school travel plan and healthy schools initiatives.
• Educating children in road safety matters and improving pedestrian skills, help them when moving onto secondary school.
• A positive attitude from walking bus children - settling down to work more quickly and concentrating harder.
• A focal point for the school, bringing together teachers, parents and the children in a positive activity that is fun.
• Support from a variety of sources - the walking bus coordinator and volunteers, the Road Safety Officer, Road Traffic Engineers and Local Community Police Officer.
• Publicity of the schools participation in the walking bus scheme.

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Notes to remember

Walking bus schemes can be linked to Walkwise child pedestrian training and school travel plans, supported by the Road Safety Team. Many schools hold the potential for the introduction of a walking bus service, though the following steps must be taken first.

• All volunteers must be checked by the Criminal Records Bureau
• All volunteers must receive training from the Road Safety Team
• All trained volunteers will be covered by Plymouth City Councils Public Liability Insurance
• All children using the bus must wear a fluorescent jacket - these are provided free of charge
• All volunteers must wear a fluorescent jacket - these are provided free of charge
• The ratio of adults to children on the bus:
  • One adult to every four infants (or preschool) children
  • One adult for every eight junior children
• There must be a minimum of two adults on each bus
• Buses operate come rain or shine
• All parents/guardians are required to sign a consent form agreeing to their child joining the walking bus and behaving in a responsible manner. Any child misbehaving may lose their place.
• Parents whose children are allocated places will receive a walking bus pack giving full details of the timetable, emergency arrangements and a consent form.

Ask your school if they have a Walking Bus in operation, if not contact the Road Safety Team to help you set one up.

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