Bike bus creates safety in numbers on school run

Organised bike rides to school create safety in numbers and set pupils up for a successful school day, organisers say.

Bike Bus World, an American non-profit group which wants to get more children cycling to school, has seen organised rides grow across the world, including in Wales.

At a bike bus in Cardiff organised by the cycling charity Sustrans, children say they enjoy travelling to school together and singing songs, such as Welsh song Yma o Hyd, along the way.

"It's a really fun and joyful way for children to get to school," said Sam Balto, a PE teacher from Portland, Oregon, and co-founder of Bike Bus World.

Parents from three schools volunteer as marshals and there are designated meeting points and times to pick children up along the route.

"A lot of people don't ride to school because they don't feel safe," Mr Balto added, during a session in the city on Thursday.

"Building physical activity into children's schedules is a wonderful way to set students up for a great school day.

"There's tons of research that shows that children do better academically when they're physically active before school."

He said the organisation is seeing bike buses created in countries all over the world, with singer Justin Timberlake joining one of the group's rides recently.

In the UK, there are currently about 20.

Claire Archer Joy, one of the parents at Ysgol Gymraeg Pwll Coch in the Canton area of Cardiff, set up the school's bike bus almost a year ago.

She wanted to create a safe environment for families to cycle to school together.

"We started with eight members of the team," she said.

"It's definitely taken time to grow but I think as people see it going past, they realise what a safe environment it is."

Families make their own arrangements for returning home, but the celebratory environment at the start of the day - there is singing and music along the way - fosters a real sense of community, those taking part say.

Marshals and a driver at the front and at the back make sure everyone is safe.

The convoy operates like a bus, picking up children along the way, and motorists wait happily for the "bus" to go by, cyclists in convoy.

Greta, nine, a pupil at Ysgol Gymraeg Pwll Coch, says the rides are "loads of fun" and feels safe with the marshals.

"I love hearing all my friends sing along to the Welsh tunes like Yma o Hyd," she said.

Osian, 10, also enjoys the music.

"You can have a chat along the way and have fun," he said.