By Jane Hackett
Cycle Buses, developed with the support of Green-Schools, encourage group cycling on the way to schools, while promoting exercise and supporting sustainable mobility. It is a parent/guardian/community-led initiative whereby several parents and volunteers lead groups of cycling primary school students to one or more schools. The idea behind is to ensure a safe journey to school with everyone cycling together in a convoy. Cycle Buses have a specific route with stops along the way where students can join. City-wide cycle buses have been operating successfully for students of multiple schools in Galway, Limerick and Dublin since early 2019 and have now spread to other places around the country such as Cork City, Skibbereen and Strandhill to name a few.
The Cycle Bus Network is formed by the adult volunteers (parents, teachers, and community groups) of the different existing cycle bus groups, which are all connected through the online platform SLACK. In this platform
each member can share information, videos, queries and anything related to new or existing cycle bus groups Green-Schools is currently working on a web page dedicated to the Cycle Bus Network, scheduled to be officially
launched in June 2021 with a social media celebration in anticipation for Bike Week. The first official event for the Cycle Bus Network is proposed for September 2021.
