Going Where No Walking School Bus Has Gone Before: The Ottawa Experience ( breakout presentation )

Abstract

With active school travel rates falling in Canada and elsewhere, the Walking School Bus (WSB) is often promoted as a potentially effective response that addresses an important barrier to walking to school: parental worries about their children walking alone. However, there are several significant barriers to starting and sustaining a traditional WSB including an overreliance on parent or community volunteers, a lack of coordination and support capacity, and risk management concerns. To address those barriers stakeholders involved in the Ottawa School Travel Planning Program came together in the fall of 2014 to launch a 12-week Walking School Bus pilot project at eight schools. It provided for WSB leaders who were screened, trained, insured, supervised and paid to walk children to school. The project also sought to measures attitudes about the WSB, demonstrate to school and community stakeholders how a well-supported daily WSB could increase the number of children walking to school, and identify the operational and financial requirements for a sustainable and successful program. The pilot project laid a solid foundation for what has evolved into an on-going WSB program operating on a daily basis at 13 schools. Registration and participation numbers have consistently increased on most routes and almost half of the children enrolled in the program were previously driven to school. This confirms that, when adequately supported, a WSB can generate significant shifts in the modal share for walking. The program is now administered and funded by a local school bussing agency. See http://www.ottawaschoolbus.ca/helpful-resources/wsb/. The Ottawa WSB experience represents two significant firsts in Canada: (1) Using paid vs. volunteer leaders to ensure a consistent, sustainable WSB service operating on a level playing field with crossing guards and school bus drivers; (2) Direct administrative and financial support from a school transportation authority whose mandate was previously restricted to motorized transport. It can serve as a best practice to be considered in other communities.