Virginia Creeper Trail. Photo by Patti Black.

Over the past generation, the way kids get to school has drastically shifted. While 61% of adults report walking to school as kids, today only 10% say their children do the same. The decrease in walking to school has been replaced by students taking the school bus or increasingly being driven in a private car to school, fueling carbon pollution and congestion in Virginia. Students and parents report wanting to walk and bike to school more, but schools have historically been disincentivized from encouraging kids to walk and bike to school for fear of losing transportation funding. Virginia just passed a new law that better aligns desires for more active transportation and how schools can be funded.

The new law allows school boards to support walking and bike “buses” to and from school without losing transportation funding.

HB 937: (Delegate LeVere Bolling) Encourages school systems to support walking and biking buses where teachers or parents escort students to and from school safely without losing transportation funding from the Commonwealth.

The new legislation encourages the development of walking and biking “buses” led by parents or teachers along a fixed route which pick up students along the way. These “buses” existed in Virginia before this law, but were often short-lived as schools weren’t allowed to financially support them. However, this new law allows schools to pay parents and teachers for leading walking and biking “buses.” Such programs are important as they encourage students to bike and walk to school, helping lower air pollution and improving public health. Multiple studies show physical activity before school helps children come to class ready to learn, leading to improved academic outcomes. These walking and biking buses have also been shown to lower rates of chronic absenteeism. Biking and walking buses allow children to spend more time outside and provide a healthier, more social alternative to being driven to school.

Plus, biking and walking buses are good for the environment. It helps instill a love for the outdoors and get children more comfortable with using active transportation to get around, helping to reduce overall vehicle miles traveled. With transportation as the largest carbon air polluter sector in the Commonwealth, changes like these can have major impacts on Virginia’s ability to meet its climate goals.