Schools in St. Louis and Edwardsville are blazing a trail for young cyclists — not for weekend racing or recreation, but as a way to get to school. It’s called a bike bus: students and parents cycling to school together along a set route, with the goal of making the roads safer for young riders.
“We see kids super excited to get up early, get exercise, and get to school,” says Patrick Van Der Tuin, executive director of St. Louis BWorks, which offers innovative cycling and computer programs for youngsters.
The program “seemed like a perfect storm of events coming together,” says Evie Hemphill, BWorks’ program director. For years, BWorks has assisted the Soulard School on its annual bike-to-school day as a complement to Earn-A-Bike, a program in which students build a bike and learn to ride safely. At the same time, a bike bus initiative that started in Portland, Oregon, gained national traction.
So far, three schools in St. Louis City have participated: City Garden Montessori School, the Soulard School, and Betty Wheeler Classical Junior Academy. Thanks to a Safe Routes to School grant, BWorks plans to expand to nine schools in the city limits in 2027. “We saw the joy of the bike bus and wanted to bring it to others,” Van Der Tuin says.
Three elementary schools in Edwardsville Community Unit School District 7 also have organized bike buses in partnership with the city’s Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Committee (BPAC). Many of the schools schedule three rides per semester, on consecutive Fridays in the fall and the spring.
Ride routes in both areas range from one to three miles. Typically, riders start at a drop-off spot and pick up other cyclists along the way. Each caravan is accompanied by at least two adults: one at the front, one at the rear, and ideally one or two in the middle. The number of students ranges from a half-dozen to almost 100.
Among Edwardsville’s driving forces, so to speak, is Jason Stacy. He regularly accompanied his two daughters to their school on bikes, “so you could call me a one-man bike bus,” he says. Stacy brought the idea to BPAC, which received the green light from three school principals. By the time of the first ride in 2023, Stacy’s kids were too old for the program. He “drove” the bus anyway. “This is a way to remind students that even in a town like Edwardsville, they can use the bike as a transportation device,” he says.
To the kids, though, a bike bus is just plain fun. According to Van Der Tuin, their first question is often, “Why can’t we do this every day?” To them, it’s an ardent wish. To adults, it’s a logistical conundrum.
First, volunteer support is essential — and extensive. Someone needs to coordinate safety preparations, map students’ home locations, plan routes, manage liability, provide rides to drop-off points for some students, and communicate with parents. Many parents volunteer as drivers, but they simply can’t adjust their schedules to make it a daily occurrence.
“We’re still working towards finding those champions in families and schools to help set up the bike buses,” Van Der Tuin says, “so we can move on to help another school.”
Second, winding through streets in the city or traversing state routes in Edwardsville or nearby Glen Carbon requires bike-friendly infrastructure, a longer-term goal. However, these rides highlight the demand among students and parents for safe, active transportation.
“One of the coolest things on both sides of the river is hearing from parents who tell us how life-changing the bike bus has been,” says Hemphill, who served on Edwardsville’s BPAC and coordinated its spring events. “It gives them the confidence to do more rides in their neighborhood on their own. That’s been so exciting to hear. It’s a way to educate our community and gain confidence in keeping each other safe.”
Want to start a bike bus? Email info@bworks.org.