In 2009, only 35 percent of students within 1 mile of their school biked or walked to school in the U.S. That's down from almost 90 percent in 1969.

Bike buses have emerged both in Europe and the United States to encourage group biking to school for students. A bike bus generally consists of one or more adult supervisors guiding a group of students along a defined route to one or more schools.

Simply building a bike lane is insufficient to shift modes for many parents and students, according to a recent study. Barriers still exist, including dissatisfaction with infrastructure and a lack of funding.

Exploring Bike Bus Programs in the United States, a report by the Transportation Research Education Center at Portland State University for the National Institute for Transportation and Communities, suggests that bike buses can change the narrative about Active Transportation to School (ATS):

• - Reduces concerns about safety (both from crime and traffic);
• - Longer distances traveled (averaging 1 mile, but often longer); and,
• - Greater breadth of participant age (children as young as kindergarten were reported as riding with bike buses.)

Bike buses have the potential to leverage the last 20 years of Safe Routes To School (SRTS) interventions, according to the report, ensuring that bike lanes, sidewalks, and crosswalks funded by districts, communities, states, and the federal government have their full value realized.

The Streets Ahead podcast recently joined a bike bus in the United Kingdom.