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Walking bus


A walking bus is a form of student transport for schoolchildren who, chaperoned by two adults (a "Driver" leads and a "conductor" follows), walk to school along a set route, in much the same way a school bus would drive them to school. Like a traditional bus, walking buses have a fixed route with designated "bus stops" and "pick up times" in which they pick up children.

The concept of the walking bus was first invented in Australia 1992 by David Engwicht and introduced in the United Kingdom in 1998 by Hertfordshire County Council. It was first used by pupils of Wheatfields Junior School in St Albans, United Kingdom in 1998

Walking Buses have remained popular in the United Kingdom and have recently gained a level of popularity elsewhere in Europe, North America and New Zealand. Proponents of walking buses say that its aims are to:

In Auckland, New Zealand, as of November 2007, one hundred schools run 230 Walking School Buses with over 4,000 children and 1,500 adults participating.

In some countries, parents and/or children on walking buses are encouraged to wear brightly coloured jackets or waistcoats. This has led to criticism that the walking bus is too regimented, and fails to achieve its original purpose of improving children's independent mobility. David Engwicht, whose 1992 book "Reclaiming our Cities and Towns" is credited by some as the origin of the Walking School Bus concept, has since stated that "The moment the Walking Bus turns into an official program, it creates some significant difficulties, particularly in litigious and risk-adverse cultures."

The walking school bus can help to reduce childhood obesity rates in the United States by increasing active transportation to school. The American Public Health Association cites that participation in active transportation to school has reduced by a third in the last 40 years. The reduction in active transportation has coincided with an increase in childhood obesity rates. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reports the prevalence of obesity among children has doubled and among adolescents has quadrupled in the past 30 years. In 2012, 18% of children and 21% of adolescents were obese.


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