
A bike bus, also known as a bike train or a cycle train, or cycle bus is a group of people who
cycle
Cycle, cycles, or cyclic may refer to:
Anthropology and social sciences
* Cyclic history, a theory of history
* Cyclical theory, a theory of American political history associated with Arthur Schlesinger, Sr.
* Social cycle, various cycles in so ...
together on a set route following a set
timetable other than for sporting purposes. Cyclists may join or leave the bike bus at various points along the route. Most bike buses are a form of collective
bicycle commuting
Bicycle commuting is the use of a bicycle to travel from home to a place of work or study — in contrast to the use of a bicycle for sport, recreation or touring.
Commuting especially lends itself to areas with relatively flat terrain and a ...
(usually parents cycling their children together).
A bike bus is often seen as a cyclist's version of a
walking bus
A walking bus (crocodile, walking school bus) is a form of student transport for schoolchildren who, chaperoned typically by two adults (a "driver" leads and a "conductor" follows), walk to school along a set route, with some similarities to a ...
, although walking buses tend to be seen as exclusively for children travelling to school.
Bike buses may have social, environmental, or political aims. One of the founders of the Aire Valley Bike Bus said "The Aire Valley Bike Bus was set up ... to encourage people to take up cycling and make the journey to work a more interesting and sociable experience.". The stated aim of the Central Florida Bike Bus is "bringing together cyclists who want to commute by bike using the same roads as every other vehicle". The aim of the D12BikeBus in Dublin 12, Ireland is to make cycling to school safer and easier while lobbying for safe cycling infrastructure.
Examples of bike buses
Aire Valley Bike Bus
The Aire Valley Bike Bus first started in August 2008.
It runs once a week, on a Wednesday, between
Keighley
Keighley ( ) is a market town and a civil parish
in the City of Bradford Borough of West Yorkshire, England. It is the second largest settlement in the borough, after Bradford.
Keighley is north-west of Bradford city centre, north-west o ...
and
Bradford in
West Yorkshire
West Yorkshire is a metropolitan and ceremonial county in the Yorkshire and Humber Region of England. It is an inland and upland county having eastward-draining valleys while taking in the moors of the Pennines. West Yorkshire came into exis ...
, UK. In November 2009 it was featured as
Cycling England's Scheme of the Month.
Bike Bus (AU)
Bike Bus is run by members of Bicycle New South Wales,
Australia on a voluntary basis
[bikebus.org.au](_blank)
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and has received funding from The Department of Environment and Water Resources, through the Low Emissions Technology and Abatement
Abatement refers generally to a lessening, diminution, reduction, or moderation; specifically, it may refer to:
* 421-a tax abatement, property tax exemption in the U.S. state of New York
* Abatement of debts and legacies, a common law doctrine ...
– Strategic Abatement program. It is a "community-led service to introduce groups of people to ride a set route together, to introduce beginners to a route, or enjoy each others company".
Bike Bus (FR)
Bike Bus
is a French company based in the Dordogne
Dordogne ( , or ; ; oc, Dordonha ) is a large rural department in Southwestern France, with its prefecture in Périgueux. Located in the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region roughly half-way between the Loire Valley and the Pyrenees, it is named ...
delivering rental bikes to visitors all over France
France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan ar ...
. Bike Bus (FR) began in 2002 and is currently the oldest bike rental company in the Dordogne.
Biketrain PDX
Biketrain PDX was started by Kiel Johnson in 2010. It co-ordinates ''bike trains'', a form of bike bus, for school children in Portland, Oregon
Portland (, ) is a port city in the Pacific Northwest and the largest city in the U.S. state of Oregon. Situated at the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers, Portland is the county seat of Multnomah County, the most populou ...
, with the aim of having a bike train running at every single school.
Bus Cyclistes
Perhaps the first bike bus initiative, based in Toulouse, France
Toulouse ( , ; oc, Tolosa ) is the prefecture of the French department of Haute-Garonne and of the larger region of Occitania. The city is on the banks of the River Garonne, from the Mediterranean Sea, from the Atlantic Ocean and from Pa ...
it now shows bike buses across France
France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan ar ...
.
Central Florida Bike Bus
First run on 23 August 2010 this bike bus runs to and from the University of Central Florida
The University of Central Florida (UCF) is a public research university whose main campus is in unincorporated Orange County, Florida. UCF also has nine smaller regional campuses throughout central Florida. It is part of the State University ...
. This bike bus has a real time Bike Bus Tracker, so that riders, with appropriate technology, can see where the bike bus is at any time.
CicloExpresso (PT)
CicloExpresso
is a bike to school project that started in 2015 in Lisbon and has since spread to Aveiro.
Kingston upon Thames
This bike bus ran every Monday in March 2011 from Sutton to Kingston upon Thames
Kingston upon Thames (hyphenated until 1965, colloquially known as Kingston) is a town in the Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames, southwest London, England. It is situated on the River Thames and southwest of Charing Cross. It is notable a ...
, UK, a total distance of roughly 7.5 miles. They claimed they would "complete the journey in about an hour - that's less time than the 213 bus takes during peak times!"
The service was led by cycle instructors and was provided by Sutton Council and Kingston Council.
Massa Marmocchi Milano (IT)
https://www.massamarmocchi.it/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uKnZtjff5iU&t=2690s
Nether Edge, Sheffield
Started in June 2013, following the Bus Cyclistes Model, to provide a regular Saturday "bus service" that introduces local residents to safe routes in the corridor between Nether Edge and Sheffield City Centre.
D12BikeBus, Crumlin to Greenhils, Dublin 12, Ireland (RoI)
Arguably one of the longest continually running Bike Buses (2019 - ), with greatest distance travelled of over 5 kilometres, the D12BikeBus is parents and children banding together to cycle safely to school while lobbying councils to make their way safer and easier.
Student transport
As walking buses tend to focus on student transport to and from school, bike buses can also operate to and from schools escorted and supervised by adults including for other human-powered transport
Human-powered transport is the transport of person(s) and/or goods using human muscle power. Unlike animal-powered transport, human-powered transport has existed since time immemorial in the form of walking, running and swimming. Modern technol ...
such as scooters.
See also
* Autobus (cycling)
In road bicycle racing
Road bicycle racing is the cycle sport discipline of road cycling, held primarily on Road surface, paved roads. Road racing is the most popular professional sport, professional form of bicycle racing, in terms of numbers ...
* Critical Mass (cycling)
Critical Mass is a form of direct action in which people meet at a set location and time and travel as a group through their neighbourhoods on bikes. The idea is for people to group together to make it safe for each other to ride bicycles through ...
*Cycle touring
Bicycle touring is the taking of self-contained cycling trips for pleasure, adventure or autonomy rather than sport, commuting or exercise. Bicycle touring can range from single-day trips to extended travels spanning weeks or months. Tours may be ...
*Peloton
In a road bicycle race, the peloton (from French, originally meaning 'platoon') is the main group or pack of riders. Riders in a group save energy by riding close (drafting or slipstreaming) to (particularly behind) other riders. The reductio ...
* Safety in numbers
* Tweed run
References
External links
Aire Valley Bike Bus (UK)
Bike Bus (AU)
Bike Bus (FR)
Bicycle New South Wales
Biketrain PDX
BusCyclistes (FR)
Central Florida Bike Bus (US)
Bike Bus Tracker
Kingston upon Thames bike bus (UK)
Orlando Kids Take Back the Streets — By Bike
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bike Bus
Cycling
Utility cycling