New walking bus keeps children healthy

11.34.56am GMT Mon 8th Mar 2010

• PUPILS and parents from the Vineyard School have launched a new walking bus to help them get to and from lessons in a safe and healthy way.

Borough mayor Cllr Celia Hodges accompanied the children on their inaugural bus journey on Monday 1 March. The idea for the bus came from parents, and the school and Council worked closely with them to advise on how a walking bus could work and to secure funding for the children to have high-visibility jackets to wear.

Cllr David Trigg, Richmond Council's Cabinet Member for Environment said: "I'm pleased to see parents, teachers and the pupils at Vineyard have got together to launch the bus. A 20 minute walk to school each day will give the children good exercise every morning, and will take cars off the road during the rush hour, which also helps families to save money on their fuel bill. It's a win-win situation, and I'd encourage our other schools which don't already have them to consider launching their own walking buses."

Richard Rosewell, Vineyard School's deputy headteacher said: "This is a project our parents have led on. I'm pleased it's come to fruition as it's part of our travel plan which the Council has helped us develop. The parents have put in a lot of work to devise rotas and take part in training, but it's something they have wanted because it will make their lives easier and help their children get regular exercise."

Pupils are dropped off at an arranged meeting point, when they form into a 'walking bus' and two volunteer parents supervise them all to walk to school. Vineyard's bus leaves from the Twickenham side of Richmond Bridge every morning and takes around 20 minutes to reach the school, at the top of Richmond Hill. A number of parents have agreed to supervise the walks on a rota basis, and they have been trained and given maps, guidance and road safety advice by the Council.