Pupils go on march

Walking bus initiative

Taking the bus to school has been given a terrific twist for children in Glenboig.

Instead of piling on to a coach and grabbing a seat, many kids at the Glenboig and Our Lady and St Joseph’s primaries joint campus lace up their shoes and pound the pavements during their journey to and from the classroom.

The intrepid youngsters – and their parents – are part of a “walking bus” run by villager Alister Carson and the Glenboig development trust.

Launched in August, the project – which encourages “more active travel” and exercise – involves a 20-minute route to and from the campus, with children free to join in at any part of the walk.

Alister told the Advertiser: “I have a 12-month contract with Glenboig development trust to organise and run the walking bus, with funding coming from Paths for All’s Better Smarter Choices Smarter Places scheme.

“We recently passed the 1000 individual walks mark – on our 20th day – so it is proving to be really popular.

“I was looking at getting more active travel activities going in the village and the walking bus was an obvious solution.

“We have also organised some cycle rides and loan out bikes for anybody who doesn’t have one.”

Explaining what the walking bus has to offer participants, Alister said: “It leaves Garnqueen Crescent at 8.25am and travels up Gainside Road, through the Oval to the joint campus.

“Children from both schools are free to walk and we pick people up along the route, which is 0.6 miles long and takes about 20 minutes. We have never been late for the bell and have had no injuries or near- misses.

“The walking bus has picked up a bit of a following on Facebook and gets a lot of great feedback from people watching from their windows.”

The Advertiser was on hand during the walking bus’ joint most productive day so far, with 40 walkers putting their best feet forward.

Alister added: “Afternoons are the busiest as everyone is leaving the school at the same time.

“We’re doing our bit for the environment as an average family car emits about 404 grams of CO2 per mile; so, from Garnqueen Crescent to the schools campus would be 202g.

“A car holds five people so every five people walking is taking one car off the road.

“The walking bus has offset, not necessarily replaced, around 57.8 car journeys – or 115 return journeys – thus far.”

Success story The walking bus encourages exercise – and helps the environment by reducing CO2 emissions

Organisers Alister with Teresa Aitken, development manager of Glenboig development trust

Pavement pounders Pupils from both schools are joined by parents on the route