According to Reuters, the initiative allows hundreds of kids to use their bicycle on a daily basis when going to school, as they are guided by volunteer parents.
The project saw support from Barcelona City Council and it had one route at first in the Sarria neighborhood, but since, it has grown to 15 routes in total in Spain's second-largest city.
Also, this initiative sparked similar interest in other cities around the world, such as Portland in the US and Glasgow in Scotland.
Not all routes are being used on a daily basis, but one of them that does has the start at 8:30 in the morning and during 25 minutes, kids travel for 2.5 kilometers, making stops at three different schools.
One Barcelona police car escort is working along with 80 parent volunteers to ensure that the kids are safe on the bikes until they reach their destination.
During the 2020-2021 school year, the organizers say that some 700 people used the biking routes and have completed around 15.000 commutes to various schools in the city.
Jordi Honey-Roses, an urban planner and senior researcher at the Institute for Environmental Science and Technology at Barcelona's Autonomous University said that "we anticipate that children who participate in 'bicibus' will be more likely to ride a bike, have better cycling habits, more sustainable transportation habits, and we think they will change the travel patterns of their family as well."
Teaching kids how to safely ride the bike when going to school can have multiple benefits, as it will encourage them to use alternative transport methods in the city and will also contribute to their overall health and well-being.
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