Spain • In the northern hemisphere, September is when summer ends and kids return to school. That raises the question of how they will get there. A generation ago, by some estimates, more than two-thirds of children either walked or took the bus in countries such as Britain, Australia and the US. Now, more and more primary-school kids are driven by car and dropped off at school. It is not the distance that's behind this development but, ironically, parents' fear of traffic.
Even European countries, which generally have higher rates of bicycle and public-transport use, are seeing a similar trend, but some cities have creative alternatives. Barcelona's bicibus ("bike bus"), for example, allows hundreds of children to ride their bikes safely to school every day. It is a citizen-led project, but one that is supported by the local authorities, in which volunteers ride with the children in a convoy — at times, taking over whole streets in Spain's second-largest city.
The bicibus programme began with one route in March 2021. It now has 15 routes and has inspired similar schemes as far away as Scotland and the US. It is hoped that the experience will also help to establish some long-term, sustainable transportation habits among the kids and their families.