This project encourages elementary-aged families to leave the car at home and bike to school instead. “Bike Bus Week” will be held twice during the school year at both elementary schools in the District of Hope. The Spring 2026 event will expand to include community-wide outreach and bike safety education.
The Hope Bike Bus project invites elementary-aged families to bike to school together instead of driving. A Bike Bus is like a school bus, but with bikes—children, families, and community helpers ride along a set route, promoting active transportation and building community.
Our goal is to reduce the morning traffic congestion during school drop-off to create safer school zones, increase public knowledge of the benefits of biking to school/work, and evaluate the efficacy of a Bike Bus program in our community. This will be achieved in two phases.
The first phase will occur in Fall 2025 where we will coordinate a ‘Bike Bus Week’ for the two elementary schools in the District of Hope. This initial Bike Bus Week will act as a pilot, focusing on building participant engagement, determining the baseline condition for project evaluation, and gather community feedback to incorporate into the second phase. Activities will include developing two School Active Travel Maps, gathering feedback through surveys and interviews, evaluating the success of the project’s first phase, and addressing areas for improvement.
A second ‘Bike Bus Week’ in early March will build on learning from the first phase and will include: a minimum of two public outreach events in community spaces, bike safety education for elementary students focusing on the second and third grades, and final project report with recommendations for future Bike Bus programming in Hope.
Reducing the volume of motor vehicles in school zones will create safer environments for walking and biking, provide opportunities for healthy activity, and help children arrive at school ready to learn. Through this project school community members and the Fraser-Cascade School District hope to increase public awareness of bike safety, reduce school-generated traffic, and strengthen community commitment to creating safe streets.
Photo source: Pexels. Photo is shown for illustration purposes only and may not be an accurate representation of the project.
