The Kent Walking Bus

There are a wide range of factors that prompt parents and teachers into getting a Walking Bus started. In this section of the Walking Bus site we give each of the schemes operating in Kent an opportunity to explain why they set up a 'bus' and what lessons they can pass on to those just starting.
They detail the routes of their 'bus' to help promote their scheme.

We set up the bus to reduce road traffic & increase road awareness, as well as to improve health & safety for the children. This has been very successful.

June 25 was the very first day of the Hamstreet Primary School Walking Bus scheme. After four months of meetings, questionnaires, planning and discussions, the morning had arrived that myself and the other volunteers would be taking 25 children to school.

Everything went well, and has continued to do so, now for over two years. Many children have joined the bus, and others have left in that time, but we always have plenty of children on our list. At one stage we went up to 36 children and we had to split our bus into two separate buses for a while.

The need for this type of scheme at the school became apparent when local residents began to complain about the number of cars, parked outside the school gates. The head teacher decided to bring in a team from the Kent County Council, to discuss the matter with parents. A bus seemed the logical idea because our village has a large car park, where parents from outside the area could drop off their children at the first bus stop with the volunteers. Answers to the questionnaires revealed the need for two more bus stops in the village along the route to school.

The whole proposed route was then walked with a road safety officer from the Kent County Council and was approved. The volunteers and the children were then given a road safety talk and their little yellow jackets and everything could start.

In the beginning the bus ran only on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday mornings, but after only a couple of months, we acquired more volunteers and went on to run on every day.

Sponsorship was obtained from three different sources, (Thomas Auto of Ashford, The Alliance and Leister and Orlestone Parish Council) and we were able to buy rucksacks and waterproof leggings for the children, and large umbrellas for the volunteers. As it happened, the leggings and the umbrellas were invaluable as our very first winter was extremely wet.

Whatever the weather, come rain or shine, both volunteers and children turn out morning after morning to walk the 15 minutes it takes to get to school. We all enjoy it, we have all made new friends, we all take pride in our local community and every morning, something either happens or something is said, that makes us smile, and that's why we do it!