What is a walking school bus?
A Walking School Bus is a school bus powered not by an engine but by legs. Children don’t sit inside this ‘bus’ – they walk in a group to school, with an adult ‘driver’ in the front and an adult ‘conductor’ at the rear. The walkers are the bus. The bus travels along a set route to or from school, picking up or dropping off children along the way at designated ‘bus stops’. Bus stops can be meeting points along the route or each child’s front gate. The service is free. All primary school age children are welcome to join the bus, even if their parents aren’t able to be drivers. The size of the bus depends on the number of accompanying adults: 8–12 children with two adults is common. There are a maximum of 8 children for every adult on each bus. The ‘bus’ can go as seldom or as often as volunteers want to ‘drive’ it and parents and children want to use it. Volunteers agree on a schedule/timetable. The ‘bus’ operates rain, hail or shine. Volunteers make decisions about cancelling the bus in
