In Barcelona, Spain, every Friday, children take the “bicibus”: this is the name given to this project which sees dozens of children go to school on bicycles escorted by their parents, ringing the bell of their car. Traffic is cut off by a police car, and like a bus, this “line”, the journey of which takes about twenty minutes, has a starting point and an ending point. The children join the procession when they pass their stop. “I adore, exclaims Jorge who accompanies his son Félix. Normally, we also come by bike every day, and that day, it’s much quieter, calm, and safe. For adults, the bike paths are fine, but for children, sometimes it’s a little hard.”
Inaugurated the line 3 of the @bicibuseixample
From Verdaguer to Glòries per l’avinguda de la Diagonal.#bicibus #bicibcn pic.twitter.com/Lwj3PKT1Ao— En bici x Barcelona (@EnbicixBCN) January 21, 2022
The atmosphere is festive, the children are absolutely delighted and are not afraid to brave the cold. “It’s the best day of the week” says one of them. Moreover, as they pass, residents applaud on the balcony. In the very noisy center of Barcelona, it is probably more relaxing to hear a group of children on bicycles than the usual hubbub of cars. The project started in September and Nina has seen her 5 year old daughter make tremendous progress.
“My daughter is fascinated because she is alone on her bike, she can be independent. It helps her to become autonomous, in complete safety. It’s very good.”
Nina, parentat franceinfo
There are seven “bicibus” lines like this in Barcelona. But behind this initiative, parents claim a safer city for children. There are cycle paths in the city but few venture there with children. Many schools are still located on roads heavily used by cars.
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The town hall sees the “bicycle bus” favorably, but for Rosa Suriñach, the originator of the project, it is necessary to go further. “Here, for example, we are asking for the removal of a car lane in favor of a school cycle path, designed for families: wide, separated from traffic and one-way, she explains. We do not intend to organize a ‘bike-bus’ every Friday. We want families to have a choice and to be able to cycle to school every day.”
The images of these children on bicycles have gone viral on social networks, inspiring cities around the world. San Francisco, Glasgow or even Buenos Aires have taken their cue from Barcelona and have just launched their own “bicibus”.