It’s Friday morning and the Shawlands weekly cycle bus is using a new wireless remote control to stop the morning rush hour at Shawlands Cross long enough to allow the 50 or so cyclists to navigate the junction safely together. Developed by Glasgow City Council’s traffic management service, the ‘super smart bike system’, fitted to the main rider’s bike, uses an encrypted military-grade signal to trigger a specially timed cycle of traffic lights, starting longer than the usual 45 seconds. stop to allow slower little ones to turn right at the intersection on their way to school. Shawlands Cycle Bus is supported by Glasgow City Council. Photo: Katherine Anne Rose/The Guardian The clever technology, believed to be the first of its kind in the UK, only operates on Friday mornings between 8.30am and 9am, when the cycle bus escorts children from the area along a pre-arranged route ending at the primary school Shawlands School, in time for the start of the school day. Waiting for the bell in the playground, nine-year-old Beatrix says she likes taking the bus by bike because it means she can chat with her friends on the way to school. Laurie, also nine, likes to ring his bell at people who wave at him as he cycles past. Eight-year-old Leo says simply: “It’s a little freedom in your life.” For Owen, five, the best thing about the bike bus is being able to ride his new red and orange bike on the street, when usually his cycling is limited to parks and tracks. He learned to pedal when he was three years old, he explains. Giving children and parents permission to take up space in car traffic is one of the key aspects of the cycle bus, says Owen’s father and a co-organiser, Gareth Johnson, who first suggested the idea to a group of neighbors last October after reading about a similar project in Barcelona. The cycle bus has allowed Shawlands pupils to gain confidence when cycling. Photo: Katherine Anne Rose/The Guardian “It’s nice for parents to realize they can take up space and use the road safely and see their children grow up with confidence. It’s an injection of joy in the morning, and people call it a weekly dose of community,” he says. “We started with five families,” Johnson explains, “and the first time was the day of the elementary school Halloween party. The kids loved it, cycling in their uniforms.” Archie Bland and Nimo Omer take you to the top stories and what they mean, free every weekday morning Privacy Notice: Newsletters may contain information about charities, online advertising and content sponsored by external parties. For more information, see our Privacy Policy. We use Google reCaptcha to protect our website and Google’s Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply. More families have joined since then, but with increasing numbers the bike bus has seen some dangerous incidents of drivers getting frustrated when they have to cross the busy intersection, moving too close to children and honking their horns. Organizers hope new traffic-stopping technology will put an end to that. “It’s a tricky junction so this helps us stay together and lets other road users see that we need to turn right,” says Beatrix’s mother, Polly Le Grand. “It’s good for them to feel they have the same right to be on the road as cars. They gain extra confidence which then makes cycling a more practical way to get through the rest of the time. It helps that they’re treated a bit like celebrities, who the kids adore!” Shawlands Cycle Bus is already advising six other schools in Glasgow who are interested in piloting their own versions, with similar programs in Edinburgh and elsewhere across the UK. A parent looks around the playground as the rosy-cheeked children disappear into the building for the start of the school day. “We’re going to need a bigger bike shed.”
