French Idea: Velobus

Elisa Francesca Roselli wrote on 20/09/2006 18:53 +0100:

Quoted message said:

I saw something on the news a few nights ago that might interest the
newsgroup.

The French have come up with something they call the "Velobus". It is a
means of getting kids to school. Instead of a schoolbus, it is a kind of
bicycle convoy, routing through the residences of all the kids to pick
them up as a schoolbus would, and accompanied by volunteer adults
(parents or teachers) to round up the packlines, stop the traffic in
appropriate places, mind the kids and keep everything orderly and safe.
The kids learn to ride to school in a safe and convivial manner.

There's also a variation called a "Pedibus" which goes on foot.

The kids interviewed for the Velobus were saying it was really fun and
got them to school faster than public transport or their harassed
parents in cars. Of course it saved gas and money. The accompanying
adults volunteered on a rotational basis, thus freeing up the other
parents from chugging their kids to school before and after work.

Cool, eh? Do they have this in Anglo-Saxon lands?

Mainly walking buses rather than cycling buses but yes.

--
Tony

"Anyone who conducts an argument by appealing to authority is not using
his intelligence; he is just using his memory."
- Leonardo da Vinci

Elisa Francesca Roselli said:

I saw something on the news a few nights ago that might interest the
newsgroup.

The French have come up with something they call the "Velobus". It is a
means of getting kids to school. Instead of a schoolbus, it is a kind of
bicycle convoy, routing through the residences of all the kids to pick
them up as a schoolbus would, and accompanied by volunteer adults
(parents or teachers) to round up the packlines, stop the traffic in
appropriate places, mind the kids and keep everything orderly and safe.
The kids learn to ride to school in a safe and convivial manner.

There's also a variation called a "Pedibus" which goes on foot.

The kids interviewed for the Velobus were saying it was really fun and
got them to school faster than public transport or their harassed
parents in cars. Of course it saved gas and money. The accompanying
adults volunteered on a rotational basis, thus freeing up the other
parents from chugging their kids to school before and after work.

Cool, eh? Do they have this in Anglo-Saxon lands?

I'm trying to introduce this at a primary school.
This summer just over 30 children in a busy village that suffers from
rat-running drivers were given cycle-training with one of the sub-aims
being to reduce congestion outside the school gates.
Some parents were also trained to ride with the children.
Its going to be a hard slog to get it fully accepted but the idea is to
setup routes of approximately 5/6 pick up points where children will be
able to join the 'Cycling Bus'.

So, yes the ideas are here too.

ISTR it may have been tried in other parts of the country.

John B

Elisa Francesca Roselli said:

I saw something on the news a few nights ago that might interest the
newsgroup.

The French have come up with something they call the "Velobus". It is
a means of getting kids to school. Instead of a schoolbus, it is a
kind of bicycle convoy, routing through the residences of all the
kids to pick them up as a schoolbus would, and accompanied by
volunteer adults (parents or teachers) to round up the packlines,
stop the traffic in appropriate places, mind the kids and keep
everything orderly and safe. The kids learn to ride to school in a
safe and convivial manner.
There's also a variation called a "Pedibus" which goes on foot.

The kids interviewed for the Velobus were saying it was really fun and
got them to school faster than public transport or their harassed
parents in cars. Of course it saved gas and money. The accompanying
adults volunteered on a rotational basis, thus freeing up the other
parents from chugging their kids to school before and after work.

Cool, eh? Do they have this in Anglo-Saxon lands?

Certainly have the walking version at some schools, some more organised than
others.

Not sure about the cycling version. I saw an informal one operating in a
small Norfolk town: one parent cycling supervising, various children added
to the group as they went past homes towards the school.

--
Nigel Cliffe,
Webmaster at http://www.2mm.org.uk/

What a great idea! Especially here in the States and ESPECIALLY in the
Southeastern states where obesity is a big problem with kids and P.E. is
a dying breed.

Now all we got to do is convince our currenr right-wing leaders...

- -
Comments and opinions compliments of,
"Your Friendly Neighborhood Wheelman"

My web Site:
http://geocities.com/czcorner

To E-mail me:
ChrisZCorner "at" webtv "dot" net

Elisa Francesca Roselli said:

Cool, eh? Do they have this in Anglo-Saxon lands?

Yup. Walking buses (often talked about, seldom seen) and Cycling Trains
(seldom talked about and seldom seen). Both usually fail any risk
assessment.

Both concepts are a pile of steaming [censored] as they are an acceptance
that the streets are unsafe for children. Organising these things takes
a hell of a lot of effort and they are rarely sustained as interest
wanes, it rains and parents/teachers/councillors move on.

I much prefer making safe routes to school actually safe - you know,
for, like /kids/ going to school. I'm sort of slightly in favour of a
marked trail on the pavement on approaches to schools - showing parents
that, yes it is OK to let your sprog walk on his own legs with his own
pals.

Not Responding said:

Elisa Francesca Roselli said:

Cool, eh? Do they have this in Anglo-Saxon lands?

Yup. Walking buses (often talked about, seldom seen) and Cycling Trains
(seldom talked about and seldom seen). Both usually fail any risk
assessment.

Both concepts are a pile of steaming [censored] as they are an acceptance
that the streets are unsafe for children. Organising these things takes
a hell of a lot of effort and they are rarely sustained as interest
wanes, it rains and parents/teachers/councillors move on.

I much prefer making safe routes to school actually safe - you know,
for, like /kids/ going to school. I'm sort of slightly in favour of a
marked trail on the pavement on approaches to schools - showing parents
that, yes it is OK to let your sprog walk on his own legs with his own
pals.

Prat.

There are organised "walking buses" in my area. Very useful for getting
toddlers off to school without having hoards of parents driving there on
the way to work.

druidh

Not Responding said:

Elisa Francesca Roselli said:

Cool, eh? Do they have this in Anglo-Saxon lands?

Yup. Walking buses (often talked about, seldom seen) and Cycling Trains
(seldom talked about and seldom seen). Both usually fail any risk
assessment.

Both concepts are a pile of steaming [censored] as they are an acceptance
that the streets are unsafe for children.

The same could be argued about anything that encourages or teaches
children to deal with any danger. Of course it is best to remove the
cause.
With travel to school it is not only the real dangers of excessive
traffic, speed and bad driving, but also other, often unjustified
perceptions of danger held by parents.

Turning this around ain't gonna happen overnight, or even in the near
future. Its a battle that is only being won in small pockets where the
introduction of Walking and Cycling Buses can encourage less car use and
importantly give confidence to parents.

Of course providing safer routes must also continue, but in parallel to
these other initiatives.

Quoted message said:

Organising these things takes
a hell of a lot of effort

Oh,well, lets not bother then if it means making an effort.
Lets also tell the following that they are wasting their time:

http://www.newsandstar.co.uk/unknown/viewarticle.aspx?id=398132
http://www.groundwork-tv.org.uk/news/detail/index.asp?id=5
http://www.watchfield.oxon.sch.uk/cycle_train.htm
http://www.cumbria.gov.uk/news/2006/june/21_06_2006-091530.asp
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/wales/4486069.stm

Quoted message said:

and they are rarely sustained as interest
wanes, it rains

Yep, lets also find all the reasons we shouldn't support such ideas.

Quoted message said:

and parents/teachers/councillors move on.

If that happens then investigate employing helpers - in the same way as
the lollipop crossing patrol. If the worst does happen at least those
children who have benefited will have learned that cycling to school is a
possibility.
You never know, they may even wish to cycle independently.

Quoted message said:

I much prefer making safe routes to school actually safe - you know,
for, like /kids/ going to school.

There's no disagreement there.
A fundamental difference is that much usually then results in the
provision of infrastructure to be implemented by local councillors, who
also seem to have difficulty making actual decisions quickly.
With Walking and Cycling Buses, parents can actually _do_ something that
doesn't cost much bar a few tabards - nor need the approval of all and
sundry.

Quoted message said:

I'm sort of slightly in favour of a
marked trail on the pavement on approaches to schools - showing parents
that, yes it is OK to let your sprog walk on his own legs with his own
pals.

....and cycles painted on roads?

John B

Elisa Francesca Roselli said:

I saw something on the news a few nights ago that might interest the
newsgroup.

The French have come up with something they call the "Velobus". It is a
means of getting kids to school. Instead of a schoolbus, it is a kind of
bicycle convoy

[]

Quoted message said:

There's also a variation called a "Pedibus" which goes on foot.

Invented by Eric Sykes IIRC

On Wed, 20 Sep 2006 18:56:47 +0100, Tony Raven <[email hidden]>

Quoted message said:

Elisa Francesca Roselli wrote on 20/09/2006 18:53 +0100:

Quoted message said:

I saw something on the news a few nights ago that might interest the
newsgroup.

The French have come up with something they call the "Velobus". It is a
means of getting kids to school. Instead of a schoolbus, it is a kind of
bicycle convoy, routing through the residences of all the kids to pick
them up as a schoolbus would, and accompanied by volunteer adults
(parents or teachers) to round up the packlines, stop the traffic in
appropriate places, mind the kids and keep everything orderly and safe.
The kids learn to ride to school in a safe and convivial manner.

There's also a variation called a "Pedibus" which goes on foot.

The kids interviewed for the Velobus were saying it was really fun and
got them to school faster than public transport or their harassed
parents in cars. Of course it saved gas and money. The accompanying
adults volunteered on a rotational basis, thus freeing up the other
parents from chugging their kids to school before and after work.

Cool, eh? Do they have this in Anglo-Saxon lands?

Mainly walking buses rather than cycling buses but yes.

Cycle trains.

I'm trying to set one up for next academic year (2007/8) for getting
children to and from school swimming lessons instead of using a coach.

Tom Crispin said:

Cycle trains.

I'm trying to set one up for next academic year (2007/8) for getting
children to and from school swimming lessons instead of using a coach.

A risk assessment would fail for ours.. the secondary school is at the
bottom of a gert steep hill. Everything else would be fine though. It
is a 15-20 minute walk, so they go by coach.

See the thread elsewhere for our progress in getting cycle facilities
and how to deal with them.

...d

John B wrote on 20/09/2006 20:28 +0100:

Quoted message said:

The same could be argued about anything that encourages or teaches
children to deal with any danger. Of course it is best to remove the
cause.

Not necessarily there is increasing evidence now that no only does
removing the cause result in risk homeostasis - i.e they learn that more
dangerous behaviour is possible - but that we are creating a generation
of kids that have not had to learn to handle danger and are ill prepared
to deal with it when the protection of parents and the school ends.

--
Tony

"Anyone who conducts an argument by appealing to authority is not using
his intelligence; he is just using his memory."
- Leonardo da Vinci

Tony Raven said:

John B wrote on 20/09/2006 20:28 +0100:

Quoted message said:

The same could be argued about anything that encourages or teaches
children to deal with any danger. Of course it is best to remove the
cause.

Not necessarily there is increasing evidence now that no only does
removing the cause result in risk homeostasis - i.e they learn that more
dangerous behaviour is possible - but that we are creating a generation
of kids that have not had to learn to handle danger and are ill prepared
to deal with it when the protection of parents and the school ends.

OK, I'll reword - It is often best to remove the danger.

John B

On Wed, 20 Sep 2006 21:24:49 +0100, John B <[email hidden]>

Quoted message said:

Tony Raven said:

John B wrote on 20/09/2006 20:28 +0100:

Quoted message said:

The same could be argued about anything that encourages or teaches
children to deal with any danger. Of course it is best to remove the
cause.

Not necessarily there is increasing evidence now that no only does
removing the cause result in risk homeostasis - i.e they learn that more
dangerous behaviour is possible - but that we are creating a generation
of kids that have not had to learn to handle danger and are ill prepared
to deal with it when the protection of parents and the school ends.

OK, I'll reword - It is often best to remove the danger.

Few of my colleagues will allow children to climb the PE ropes. Mind
you, I had a child's hands slip on a rope on Tuesday when he was at
the top, and he ended up with half a dozen blisters on his hands as he
slid to the ground.

Tom Crispin wrote on 20/09/2006 21:32 +0100:

Quoted message said:

Few of my colleagues will allow children to climb the PE ropes. Mind
you, I had a child's hands slip on a rope on Tuesday when he was at
the top, and he ended up with half a dozen blisters on his hands as he
slid to the ground.

He'll recover pretty quickly with no long term harm and he will have
learnt a valuable lesson.

--
Tony

"Experience is a hard teacher because she gives the test first, the
lesson afterwards."
- Vernon Sanders Law

John B wrote on 20/09/2006 21:24 +0100:

Quoted message said:

Tony Raven said:

John B wrote on 20/09/2006 20:28 +0100:

Quoted message said:

The same could be argued about anything that encourages or teaches
children to deal with any danger. Of course it is best to remove the
cause.

Not necessarily there is increasing evidence now that no only does
removing the cause result in risk homeostasis - i.e they learn that more
dangerous behaviour is possible - but that we are creating a generation
of kids that have not had to learn to handle danger and are ill prepared
to deal with it when the protection of parents and the school ends.

OK, I'll reword - It is often best to remove the danger.

Rewording it doesn't solve the problem - my post was about children not
learning to handle danger and removing the danger just ensures they
won't get the chance to learn to handle it.

--
Tony

"Anyone who conducts an argument by appealing to authority is not using
his intelligence; he is just using his memory."
- Leonardo da Vinci

Tony Raven said:

John B wrote on 20/09/2006 21:24 +0100:

Quoted message said:

Tony Raven said:

John B wrote on 20/09/2006 20:28 +0100:
> The same could be argued about anything that encourages or teaches
> children to deal with any danger. Of course it is best to remove the
> cause.
Not necessarily there is increasing evidence now that no only does
removing the cause result in risk homeostasis - i.e they learn that more
dangerous behaviour is possible - but that we are creating a generation
of kids that have not had to learn to handle danger and are ill prepared
to deal with it when the protection of parents and the school ends.

OK, I'll reword - It is often best to remove the danger.

Rewording it doesn't solve the problem - my post was about children not
learning to handle danger and removing the danger just ensures they
won't get the chance to learn to handle it.

Best send your kids off to school with their wheel nuts undone and wonky
brakes then.

John B

Elisa Francesca Roselli said:

I saw something on the news a few nights ago that might interest the
newsgroup.

The French have come up with something they call the "Velobus". It is a
means of getting kids to school. Instead of a schoolbus, it is a kind of
bicycle convoy, routing through the residences of all the kids to pick
them up as a schoolbus would, and accompanied by volunteer adults
(parents or teachers) to round up the packlines, stop the traffic in
appropriate places, mind the kids and keep everything orderly and safe.
The kids learn to ride to school in a safe and convivial manner.

There's also a variation called a "Pedibus" which goes on foot.

The kids interviewed for the Velobus were saying it was really fun and
got them to school faster than public transport or their harassed
parents in cars. Of course it saved gas and money. The accompanying
adults volunteered on a rotational basis, thus freeing up the other
parents from chugging their kids to school before and after work.

Cool, eh? Do they have this in Anglo-Saxon lands?

EFR
Ile de France

I've heard of "walking buses in different parts of the US, great idea
for younger kids. As they get older it would be nice if they were
encouraged to walk or cycle on their own.
mark

Not Responding said:

Elisa Francesca Roselli said:

Cool, eh? Do they have this in Anglo-Saxon lands?

Yup. Walking buses (often talked about, seldom seen) and Cycling Trains
(seldom talked about and seldom seen). Both usually fail any risk
assessment.

Both concepts are a pile of steaming [censored] as they are an acceptance
that the streets are unsafe for children.

Depends on the age of the children and the streets they have to walk on.

mark

"Elisa Francesca Roselli" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Cool, eh? Do they have this in Anglo-Saxon lands?

Ahh the BikeBus. They've been in Australia for quite some time for
commuters. eg
http://www.massbug.org.au/cgi-bin/twiki/bin/view/MASSBUG/BikeBus
I haven't heard of any for school kids though.

--
www.ozcableguy.com
www.oztechnologies.com