BlogsIndustry-based Sustainability & Environmental Studies project to help bike buses plan safe routes to school
Civil & Environmental Engineering student learns how a Glasgow-based bike bus planned a route to allow children to cycle to school.
Travelling to school by an active mode of transport, such as walking or cycling, contributes to recommended levels of children’s physical activity, improves their road sense, and potentially boosts their academic performance. Benefits also include a reduction in traffic congestion around schools and improvements in air quality. However, in many cases the design of streets around schools does not make active travel for children straightforward. In particular, the lack of high-quality cycling infrastructure within school catchment areas is a major barrier to children cycling to school even although studies show that a significant proportion of children would choose to cycle if possible.
This is where the industry-based project by Joséphine Lina came in. Joséphine is a Sustainability & Environmental Studies MSc student in the Department of Civil & Environmental Engineering at the University of Strathclyde.
Industry-based projects are carried out by students on topics proposed by industry, and allow students to develop their technical and professional skills under the supervision of an industrial contact whilst gaining credits towards their MSc in the process. At the same time, industry gains a solution developed by the student to a problem of interest.
Project beginnings
In November 2022, Joséphine began a project investigating the planning of routes for school bike buses.
A bike bus is formed by a group who cycle/scoot/wheel together on a fixed route, at a set time and with established stops, with the purpose of making the journey safer and more enjoyable for those taking part, and often as part of a campaign for better cycling infrastructure.
The Glasgow-based project was run specifically with the Shawlands Bike Bus which was established by parents at the start of the 2021/22 school year to escort their children to the local primary school. It has attracted high-profile coverage in the news and on social media. This project was carried out in collaboration with Glasgow City Council who were keen to understand the factors influencing route choice so that they could extend assistance to newly-formed bike buses in Glasgow.
The safety of those taking part in any bike bus is a critical consideration when selecting the route. In the case of the Shawlands Bike Bus, the entire length of the route uses trafficked roads through the city’s south side, and passes through several junctions including a busy set of traffic lights. As there was very little in the way of published literature relating specifically to bike buses, the first step was to review the factors that influence cycling risk more generally.
Unsurprisingly the literature review found that the provision of cycling infrastructure which segregates cyclists from motor vehicles reduces risk, whilst cycling on major streets alongside parked cars where there is no specific provision for cyclists increases risk.
The literature review results helped frame the next stage of the project. The defining feature of a bike bus is that those taking part cycle to school as an organised group in which children are escorted by adults. Since previous studies were carried out on adults cycling alone, Joséphine was interested in how cycling risks might be different for bike buses and, in particular, how the effect of ‘security in numbers’ could help overcome known risks, and influence the final choice of route.
As there was very little in the way of published literature relating specifically to bike buses, the first step was to review the factors that influence cycling risk more generally.
Conducting interviews
The next stage was running semi-structured interviews with the organisers of two Glasgow bike buses. These interviews explored how each bike bus was organised, identified the key factors which influenced the choice of route and the number and location of stops, and established what lessons had been learned from the experience of running a bike bus.
Key results
Some key results from the interviews included:
- To be viable, a bike bus route must pass close to the homes of those who want to take part and there must be sufficient space for participants to gather around designated stops
- Interviewees regarded route length as less of a deterrent than the level of traffic and specific route features such as gradients, parked cars and the number and type of junctions along the route
- What might initially appear to be the safest and quietest route may not turn out to be the best route for a bike bus to take. The organisers of Shawlands Bike Bus initially selected a route which avoided busy roads. However, this route included an uphill section which was too steep for young children and was also used by drivers as a short cut to avoid congestion on main roads. The alternative route involved cycling along busy streets and through a major junction controlled by traffic lights which did not provide sufficient time for the full length of the bike bus to clear before turning to red. To use this busier route safely, adult escorts needed to form a highly visible and protective cordon around the bike bus
- Glasgow City Council assisted by providing the bike bus with a mobile traffic light controller to expedite and extend the green time on the approach to the junction used by the bike bus. This gives the bike bus a 45-second priority through traffic lights with the button only working between 8:30 to 9:00 am every Friday
Practical experience
This project gave Joséphine a great opportunity to work on a practical topic in transport. This is an area she would like to work in the future due to its importance in the ecological transition of society. Joséphine developed applied research skills, particularly in conducting interviews and analysing spatial datasets. She really enjoyed sharing my findings with Glasgow City Council officers and bike bus organisers, and felt it was fantastic to see a successful community-led initiative in action.
Joséphine reflected on her results and how they could be used to help other groups thinking about establishing a bike bus. The ambition for cities is to have a network of high-quality, segregated cycling infrastructure enabling children to cycle to school with or without adult supervision depending on their age and ability. There would be no need to devote a great deal of time planning and running a bike bus, and the level of adult supervision required to minimise risk would be far less.
That said, the experience of those running bike buses, in particular the Shawlands Bike Bus, is that road safety barriers can be overcome if a bike bus is well-organised, parents are able and willing to commit to take part in the bike bus, and the local council and police have the time and resources to provide support on the ground.
It's also clear that bike buses can evolve into something that's much more than a means of escorting children safely to school by bike. Bike buses can be great fun for adults and children to take part in, are social and can be used to advocate in a highly visible way the need for better cycling infrastructure and safer, more considerate driving. In this case, route planning can be as much about engagement with the wider community as it is about finding the quickest and safest route to school.
Joséphine developed applied research skills, particularly in conducting interviews and analysing spatial datasets.
Final step
The final step of this project is to develop an outline specification for a bike bus mapping tool. There has been interest in establishing bike buses at other schools in Glasgow, and these initiatives form part of a growing number of school bike buses around the world in cities as diverse as Barcelona, Frankfurt and Portland, USA. Sharing knowledge and research within Glasgow and between international cities will help in the push towards better and safer transport infrastructure for all.
About Joséphine Lina
Joséphine Lina is currently studying for an MSc in Sustainability & Environmental Studies in the Department of Civil & Environmental Engineering at the University of Strathclyde. She was awarded third prize for the presentation of her industry-based project at the recent Engage Strathclyde Poster Presentation event on 4 May 2023.