BikeBusPDX aims to promote biking as a healthy and eco-friendly commuting option for school children. The program organizes groups of kids to ride their bikes together to school on a weekly basis. By fostering camaraderie and providing a sense of security, the Bike Bus encourages kids to embrace cycling as a fun and social activity. This initiative not only reduces traffic congestion and carbon emissions, but also instills a lifelong habit of active transportation in young individuals.

History of the Bike Bus (Bike Train)

The current incarnation of the Bike Bus is not Portland’s first! That honor goes to the Bike Train movement from 2010.

Biketrainpdx.org was started by Kiel Johnson in 2010 as a way to create a citywide community for bike trains. After graduating from college and unable to find a job doing what he wanted to do Kiel decided to just go out and do it. So in 2009, Kiel helped organize a bike train from Beach School which proved very successful. Using that as a model Kiel tried to spread bike trains to schools throughout Portland. The goal was to have a bike train running at every single school in Portland.

— biketrainpdx.org

Here are some press articles about the original Bike Train:

• Oregon Live
• Bike trains take off: Six schools on board, national TV, and more! — Bike Portland
• At Beach School, biking and walking makes a stronger community — Bike Portland
• Once prohibited, biking now a big part of Beach School — Bike Portland
• Local Schools Get On Board the Bike Train

Bike Buses Today

The current Bike Bus movement in Portland was started by Sam Balto on Earth Day 2022 at Alameda Elementary. It was part of a trend of Bike Buses sprouting up throughout North America and Europe. Since then, Sam has started running the non-profit Bike Bus World to evangelize and support Bike Buses everywhere.

There are Bike Buses at almost two dozen Portland schools, led primarily by parent volunteers. Our Bike and Walking Buses were awarded $2.1m in grants from the Portland Clean Energy Fund and the Federal government to grow existing success and open new frontiers.

Bike Bus Research

There are a handful of papers specifically about Bike Buses- please email ride@bikebuspdx.org if you think anything should be added here:

• Global Survey of Bike Bus Initiatives from City Lab Barcelona
• Exploring Bike Bus Programs in the United States from PSU TREC
• Bike Buses: An Evaluation of An Emerging Active Transportation to School Intervention from PSU TREC

If you’re interested in learning more about Bike Buses, or starting your own, check out bikebus.world or how to start a Bike Bus.