<\/p>\n
Getting to school in 2026 is not what it was when in the 1960s\/1970s\/1980s\/1990s\/delete as applicable. Traffic in Great Britain has more than doubled since the mid-1970s, while parental anxiety about allowing children to ride alongside those higher numbers of cars \u2013 and indeed higher cars courtesy of the rise in SUVs \u2013 has risen too.<\/p>\n
To help combat that trend, the Bike Bus Accelerator (BBA) is launching, initiated by Shimano and delivered by global NGO BYCS. The upshot is, BBA will help people start, grow and sustain bike buses, so a safe, fun ride to school becomes normal for more children across Europe.<\/p>\n
Bike buses are volunteer-run schemes \u2013 children and parents ride to school together, on a set route, at a set time, picking up riders along the way. The Bike Bus Accelerator aims to connect these volunteers, sharing knowledge, tools and financial support to existing and new Bike Buses, so the movement can scale. The programme has six focus cities with cycling challenges: Barcelona (BBA is officially launching there on Friday 3 July), Lisbon, Vienna, Glasgow, Utrecht and Copenhagen.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
The launch celebration takes place at a free family fan park beside Barcelona\u2019s Arc de Triomf from 08:30 on Friday 3 July, the day before the Grand D\u00e9part of the Tour de France. Families are encouraged to ride to the event \u2013 together with neighbours, classmates and friends.<\/p>\n
At the event, children will see the finale of a helmet design competition, with every young designer celebrated on stage and the winning design revealed as a bespoke helmet. The first 150 children attending will receive a free Lazer helmet and all attendees will receive a goodie bag. Children and advocates will also sign a Children\u2019s Manifesto to support bike buses and to call for safer streets for cycling to school. Attendance is free, with registration required.<\/p>\n
The winning child\u2019s design will also be carried into the race itself, appearing with Team Picnic PostNL riders\u2019 helmets on stage two of the Tour de France.<\/p>\n
The Barcelona launch is the first of two landmark moments in 2026. In September, the movement will come together on a global scale, with bike buses around the world riding on the same day in a bid to set a new world record for the world\u2019s biggest bike bus ever.<\/p>\n
The Bike Bus Accelerator will also be launching a grant programme later in 2026, judged by a panel of experts, to help kickstart new bike buses and reduce barriers to running them for existing volunteers.<\/p>\n
Maud de Vries, CEO of BYCS said: \u201cBike buses are started by parents and PE-teachers, often with nothing more than a route map, a group chat and a lot of determination. We want to help more people do this by sharing expertise and helping kickstart new movements. Every child deserves a safe route to school, and families shouldn\u2019t have to reinvent the wheel to make that happen. The Accelerator exists so that no one has to start completely from scratch \u2013 when we learn from each other, the whole movement moves faster.\u201d<\/p>\n
Ties van Dijk, Advocacy Specialist at Shimano Europe, said:\u00a0\u201cThis movement belongs to the parents, teachers and children who ride every week \u2013 our role is the one we know best: being the part that helps all the other parts move together. A bicycle only works when every component does its job, and a bike bus is no different. We\u2019re proud to support the programme to help grow, start and raise attention for bike buses across Europe.\u201d<\/p>\n
Shimano is an official partner of the Tour de France, providing Neutral Service support to riders across all women\u2019s and men\u2019s races. The Tour de France is supporting the initiative with access to the official Tour de France Fan Park in Barcelona.<\/p>\n
For more information and to register for the event on 3 July, please visit www.bikebusaccelerator.com<\/a><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n<\/div>\n