Bruce Henderson says the Raumati BikeBus would have many benefits. Photo / David Haxton
Cycling to and from school could become a lot safer, and more fun, if the Raumati BikeBus initiative gets into gear.
Kāpiti Cycling Action, with the support of all three local primary schools, is seeking $19,000 from the Raumati Community Board to plan, organise and launch the Raumati BikeBus project.
“Each Raumati BikeBus will be a daily supervised ride on the quieter roads and cycle paths which students can join as it passes near their house and, just like a bus, it will run to a timetable every day with marshals at the front and rear to keep the students safe,” Kāpiti Cycling Action chair Bruce Henderson said.
“The Raumati Community Board will consider the application for funds [tomorrow night] allocated in the Long Term Plan for just this type of community-based initiative,” Henderson said.
“Providing those funds are forthcoming, the essential planning work will immediately get under way, and by August training will be provided to students and volunteer marshals so that the BikeBus can launch next term.
“Both students and volunteers [who would be vetted] will receive training and Waka Kotahi/ACC/Greater Wellington have committed to provide this through the Pedal Ready scheme, and tailor that training specifically for children as young as eight to join the bus by themselves, or younger with their parents.
“Kāpiti Cycling Action have spoken with schemes in Auckland and as far away as Ireland, and the plan will be to provide a range of routes that provide convenient and safe ways to get to and from school.
“A lot of planning and finalising the routes needs to be done before it’s ready to roll.”
Road safety for children in the Ramati Beach area, for example, had been an issue for a long time, Henderson said.
“If you’re outside the schools, particularly at 8.55am or 3.05pm, the traffic tends to be very banked up.
“So finding ways of mitigating that and making it safer for children is very much about what it’s about.”
He said while volunteer marshals may be other parents, they could equally be retired people, older students or any people who have been trained.
“It’s a great opportunity to provide a practical inter-generational programme that brings together people with the Raumati community,” Henderson said.
“We all know that cycling on the road can be daunting, especially for our younger citizens, so BikeBus provides a safe, healthy and convenient way to make cycling to school easy.”
If board funding wasn’t forthcoming, other options would be pursued.
“If at first you don’t succeed, keep trying until you get it across the line, because it’s very worthwhile in many ways,” Henderson said.
Raumati Beach School deputy principal Julie Morris said: “The BikeBus would promote a healthy alternative means of transport and also support our school value of ‘Hauora’ [health].”
Cat Hendra from Te Rā Waldorf School particularly liked “the community building aspect of joining other schools for our students”.
“Around half of our students head off to Kāpiti College, and having already forged friendships with others helps with their transition to college,” Hendra said.
“We feel that the BikeBus will help reduce traffic build up around our kura.”
Raumati South School deputy principal Marcus Hopkinson said BikeBus would be “great for our community as a whole in this area and this intervention would benefit a number of our students”.