CycleBus

Why it matters

Busier lives, longer communities, more congestion, unsafe roads, have created an environment not conducive to safe cycling for our most vulnerable in society. The cycle bus is just one intervention aiming to break that cycle. Getting a critical mass of children cycling to school every day will encourage others to do likewise. Parents want their children to be active. They want to see them fit and healthy. But our communities are dominated by car-centric planning. We aim to change that.

The Background

The cycle bus was founded in Galway in Ireland, by Alan Curran, who wanted to cycle his 5-year-old to school. In Knocknacarra, a busy suburb in Galway, there were no safe routes to the local school, and the cycle lanes that did exist were completely substandard. Over the summer of 2018, the team spoke to the school and received valuable feedback on the barriers to active travel. They mapped the area, and conducted risk assessments. They used social media effectively to promote the concept and drum up support with stakeholders in the community. In October 2018, they began the first cycle bus in Ireland with 25 students and 8 adults. More CycleBuses have since been set up in 8 locations across Ireland, and also in the UK, and hopefully in Sweden too!