Thirty school children walk to school every Monday and Friday, using one of the three routes. Two routes started earlier this month from Uckfield train station and from Eastbourne Road. Another route goes from Harland Estate and has been running for six months.
The routes are run by volunteers and supported by East Sussex County Council’s School Travel Plan team who work with and train the volunteers and provide high visibility clothing for the children.
Walking buses allow children to enjoy a healthy walk to school, learn about road safety and enjoy extra time with their friends. A walking bus also means there are fewer cars on the school run and less congestion around the gates.
Notes to editors
A walking bus is made up of a group of children who walk a certain route to school and are supervised by volunteers. There are 25 Walking buses across in East Sussex.
A School Travel Plan (STP) is a document written by the school community to identify ways of encouraging more sustainable journeys to and from school. A walking bus is one way in which local car journeys can be reduced but other measures within a STP might be child pedestrian training, cycle training or even promoting car-sharing. The STP team work with schools across the county to help them write their STPs. Once a STP has been written to an approved standard, the school will receive a capital grant from the Department for Transport which can be used to spend on measures within the school grounds that help promote sustainable travel – measures might include secure cycle shelters or safety improvements for pedestrians.
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