Only 25% of school children walk or ride to school in NSW, compared to 75% four decades ago, and this is mirrored across the country.

The $10 million Active Transport to School program will fund projects in catchment areas that encourage kids to choose healthy modes of transport and reduce traffic outside school gates.

The initial focus of the program is to widen footpaths, upgrade pedestrian crossings and plant shady trees around schools to make the environment more inviting for active transport.

Individual projects will also be delivered by councils, who have applied for a slice of the $10 million pool in consultation with their local schools. These projects will range from $50,000 to $800,000 and will be delivered within two years.

“The benefits for children walking or riding a bike to school are enormous,” says Minister for Transport Jo Haylen.

“It provides independence, improves health and self-confidence, and sets lifelong sustainable travel habits patterns. When fewer school kids are being driven to school, it also helps to alleviate congestion on the road network.”

Applications for the Active Transport to School program closed in December and successful projects will be announced in April/May.

Meanwhile, school kids in Queensland are also set to receive an active transport boost.

The Federal Government has partnered with youth-focused charity Police-Citizens Youth Clubs to deliver to deliver a new bike education for 36,000 primary school children in years four to six.

The Wheely Wise program will teach kids riding preparation, balancing, braking, head checks, hazards and others safety skills.

While these programs are commendable and much-needed, Australia sits well behind some countries in its bike education initiatives for young people.

Last year, France launched a nationwide bike education program aimed at inspiring around 800,000 school children each year. In December, the UK government announced a AU$95 million investment in bike training for one million school kids.

In Victoria, the state government announced $11 million in its 2023-2024 Budget to help keep school children active. Funding for Bicycle Network’s Ride2School program was discontinued in June 2023.

We are working to secure new sources of funding and continuing to help students build healthy transport habits through our award-winning Open Streets program, you can contribute to our efforts here.

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Bicycle Network’s Ride2School team works year-round to equip students with bike riding skills and healthy habits that last a lifetime.

National Ride2School Day is an annual culmination of these efforts, and is Australia’s biggest celebration of active travel.

The stage is now set for the 2024 edition on Friday 22 March. Find out more and register here.

More than 870 schools and 360,000 students took part in National Ride2School Day in 2023. Overcrowded bike sheds, proud parents and celebratory breakfasts were the result across the country.

In Victoria, a record-breaking 500 schools got involved in the day.

Around 25% of children in Australia walk or ride to school, a marked decline from around 80% in the 1970s.

Bicycle Network’s Ride2School team works to reverse this trend through bike education, the creation of safe Active Paths to schools and our award-winning Open Streets program.

Our Ride2School program is seeking new funding for its 2024 program and beyond. You can help us by pledging your support here.

Or become our friend and subscribe to receive our fortnightly newsletter.

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Our funding from the Victorian Government comes to an end next month, and we’re leaving no stone unturned in our efforts to find a new path forward. 

In the meantime, we need your help.  

We’ve never turned to the public to support our flagship behaviour change program before, but it has never faced such uncertainty.  

Last week, we launched a fundraising campaign to help our Ride2School team maintain their vital relationships with school communities and keep shaping a healthy future for Australian children.  

And we are overwhelmed by the support we’ve received so far. It is truly touching to see how much the program means to so many people. All the donations, comments and messages of support make the world of difference.  

I can tell you that our Ride2School team is feeling the love. And they deserve it! In the past two years alone they have: 

• Set new records to get nearly 500,000 kids involved in National Ride2School Day, Australia’s biggest day of active travel.
• Developed travel maps for more than 30,000 kids to actively travel to school safely.
• Achieved an active travel rate at participating schools that is nearly double the national average.
• Worked with thousands of schools to promote active travel, bike education and safety.
• Offered our award-winning Mind.Body.Pedal program to hundreds of female-identifying and gender-diverse students.
• Built bike parking for 17 schools.

They’ve achieved so much since 2006, helping so many kids discover the joy of riding and build healthy habits for life.

The active travel rate of our participating schools is nearly double the national average. So, as rates of obesity and diabetes in Australia continue to climb, the work of our Ride2School team has never been more important.  

There are only a few days left in the financial year, so please spread the word and consider a tax-deductible donation to help keep this journey going. With your help, we can keep Ride2School rolling long into the future. 

Alison McCormack 

CEO, Bicycle Network 

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Bicycle Network’s free Ride2School program has shared the joy of riding with hundreds of thousands of students for 17 years. But the program, beloved by schools across the country, is under threat.  

Successive funding cuts could see the program, which encourages, empowers and enables children to get physically active on their journey to and from school, end in July.   

Bicycle Network’s expert team has supported thousands of schools in breaking down barriers that prevent students from taking active journeys to school. The program has been funded by the Victorian Government since 2006.  

Bicycle Network CEO Alison McCormack says the funding provided by Sport and Recreation Victoria is changing as part of a new active transport program introduced in the State Budget.  

“Our Ride2School team has worked behind the scenes to build a new generation of healthy young people and support them to learn healthy habits that last a lifetime. We would be devastated to see this program reduced or diminished in any way.  

“We have never asked the public to support our program before, but we have decided to put out an urgent call to help Save Ride2School with a $50,000 immediate cash injection before the end of this financial year. We are hoping to receive support from donors, local councils and other State Government departments,” says McCormack.  

“The program’s success has been incredible over the years. Last year, 96 per cent of schools that participated in Ride2School told us they were likely or very likely to recommend the program to other schools and 42% or schools ranked the program 10/10.” 

Ride2School offers schools bike safety and maintenance sessions, riding course advice and planning and equipment and resources.  

Students learn road safety awareness and skills, and many gain the confidence to ride a bike to school for the first time. The program supports schools to develop active travel maps, which outline routes to get all students to their school safely.  

Bicycle Network’s Ride2School program is celebrated annually in March, when schools across the nation join National Ride2School Day.  

This year 366,000 students at 871 schools around the country rode a bike, scooter, or skateboard, or walked to school on National Ride2School Day. In Victoria, a record-breaking 210,000 students at 500 schools got involved. 

“Those numbers are testament to the wonderful program we have created over almost two decades.  

“While we wait to revise the program and partner with other organisations, we have a long list of school children who are in desperate need of bike education and our other services. Please donate to help us to keep Ride2School going,” says McCormack. 

The funds raised will steady the ship as Bicycle Network pursues new sources of funding over the coming months, and enable its team to continue their important work with school communities to promote physical activity among young Australians.  

Donations of all sizes will help these efforts, and this what they would mean to us: 

• $25 could pay for a road safety awareness session for one student  
• $50 could pay for a bike education skills session for one student 
• $100 could pay for a training session on an adapted cycle for one student 
• $500 could pay for a Bicycle Network-hosted active travel day at one school 
• $1000 could pay for an active travel map outlining safe routes to get students to one school 
• $5000 could pay for a complete Ride2School program for one school. 

Visit our campaign page to get involved.

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Open Streets offers an alternative vision of daily drop-off and pick-ups by dedicating the space around schools to active travel.

It encourages families to leave the car at home and walk, ride, scoot or skate their way to and from school instead. And as the idea catches on, safer, happier and healthier streets may be on the way all around Melbourne. And perhaps far beyond.

A global movement

Open Streets is an Australian-first initiative but draws inspiration from programs overseas such as School Streets, which is being trialled by an increasing number of towns and cities in the UK.

The “Rue aux Écoles” (Streets to Schools) program in Paris is progressing rapidly, too. It is part of an initiative by the city to combat traffic congestion, air pollution and climate change by limiting motor traffic and opening roads around kindergartens and primary schools to active travel. 

The aim is to establish these streets around 230 schools in metropolitan Paris. Already, 126 streets to schools have been created since the program was introduced in 2020. Roads that were until recently packed with cars have become calm and colourful streets offering families safe and playful routes to school.

Similar initiatives have been introduced in various forms right across Europe and North America. Between 2019 and April 2022, the number of school streets rolled out around the world rocketed from 20 to more than 1200, according to a report by the Child Health Initiative.

Baby steps down under

The concept of school streets came to life in Australia through a partnership between Bicycle Network and Merri-bek City Council in March 2021 at Brunswick East Primary School.

The first Open Streets took place during school drop-off and pick-up hours across three Fridays and were met with overwhelming satisfaction by the community. Active travel rates increased by 18.3% on event days and more than 80% of survey respondents supported the idea of making them a weekly occurrence.

The program was then a finalist in the 2021 Victorian Health Promotion Awards and further trials followed later that year at Coburg North Primary School. Another three schools in Merri-Bek took part in 2022.

In 2023, Open Streets has expanded into new terrain through trials at Lloyd Street Primary School in the City of Stonnington. Here active travel rates increased by 27.6% on event days and 92% of survey respondents said they’d like to see Open Streets take place regularly in the future.

“It got people talking about active transport when they wouldn’t otherwise have,” said one parent of the Stonnington Open Streets trials. “It was good to have less congestion at the drop-off zone. Kids looked forward to it each week.”

Five schools are set to take part this year, and the Open Streets program has also attracted interest from further afield, including councils in regional Victoria.

Australian kids are among the least active in the world, according to a study by Monash University, ranking 140th out of 146 countries for physical activity. Creating safe spaces for them to walk and ride as part of their everyday travel can help turn this trend around and build healthy habits that last a lifetime. 

“We have made great progress in a short space of time,” says Bicycle Network Ride2School Program Manager Manon Dolet. “It’s fantastic to see more and more councils reaching out and being interested in Open Streets. I can’t wait to see them popping up all over Melbourne, Victoria and why not… all of Australia!”

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Drop-off and pick-up zones surrounding the school in South Daly Street have opened up for families to ride, scoot, skate or walk to school on selected days. Active travel to the school increased by 16% in the first week.

Bicycle Network’s Ride2School team partners with schools and local councils to conduct Open Streets trials, when motor traffic is diverted with clear signage, traffic control and pre-event communication with the community. 

This encourages school kids and their families to use active transport instead, and the idea is catching on. 

In 2021 Bicycle Network delivered its Open Streets program at two schools – Coburg North Primary School and Brunswick East Primary School – in partnership with the City of Merri-bek.

Last year Merri-bek Primary School, Brunswick North West Primary School, St Oliver Plunkett Primary School, also in the City of Merri-bek, took part.

Five schools are signed up for 2023. The first Open Streets for the year was Lloyd Street Primary School in the City of Stonnington in February. More than 75% of students reported using some form of active transport during the event, an increase of 27.6% on normal school days.

All participants said they felt 100% safe walking or riding to school on Open Streets days, compared to 59% on normal school days.

“I think it was a great concept to broaden the boundaries of the school – making the kids feel safe and doing activities that energised the kids before school. It gave the kids a sense of fun connection – making the street ‘their place’,” said one Lloyd Street Primary School parent.

“It got people talking about active transport when they wouldn’t otherwise normally have. It was good to have less congestion at the drop-off zone and the kids looked forward to it each week,” said another parent.

Oak Park Primary School, Fawkner West Primary School and Glenroy West Primary School, all in the City of Merri-bek will join in Open Streets later this year.

Bicycle Network’s National Ride2School Day is Australia’s biggest celebration of active school travel. This year, 366,000 students from 871 schools across the country joined in. In Victoria, that included a record-breaking 210,000 students from 500 schools.

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Overflowing bike sheds, proud parents and ear-to-ear smiles could be found all over the country today as thousands of kids took part in another joyous National Ride2School Day. 

National Ride2School Day is Australia’s biggest celebration of active transport. 871 schools participated this year, seeing some 366,000 students pedal, scoot, skate and walk their way to school. 

In Victoria, a record-breaking 500 schools got involved – a huge increase on both the 429 last year and previous record of 450 in 2021. This saw participation numbers hit new heights in the state, with a record 210,000 students taking part. 

Schools all around Victoria embraced the beauty of active transport with parades, obstacle courses and hard-earned breakfasts.

Ascot Vale Primary School was a hive of bike-related activity with plenty of fun and color. Victoria’s Minister for Education Natalie Hutchins and Bicycle Network CEO Alison McCormack were there to take it all in. 

“It just makes your heart sing seeing so many kids getting into the spirit of Ride2School Day, having fun on their bikes and building habits for healthy and happy lives,” McCormack says.

At St James the Apostle Primary School in Hoppers Crossing, the bike racks have been relatively empty since the return from COVID. That changed today with more than 100 bikes and scooters crammed in for National Ride2School Day 2023, with the carpark and drop-off zone left bare instead.  

“Not only does walking and riding to school keep our children healthy, happy and ready to learn, it also helps the environment,” said PE co-ordinator at St James the Apostle Primary School, Joe Grimes.  

Similar scenes could be found from Torquay to Clifton Hill, with overcrowded sheds causing bike riders to turn elsewhere for parking solutions, such as the surrounding grass or rails outside the school gates. 

Meanwihile in Perth, students at Noranda Primary School got into the swing of things with a spacious obstacle course on the oval and nutritious snack stations for those working up an appetite.  

Ride2School Day at @NorandaPS our @YourMove team provide a before school obstacle course and sourced. A great day for motivating our students to ride to school. @Ride2School @WA_Edu_News pic.twitter.com/QVbdTNs4L3

— Noranda Primary School (@NorandaPS) March 24, 2023

National Ride2School Day is the peak of Bicycle Network’s broader Ride2School program, which works to help children get their recommended 60 minutes of daily exercise by making it easier to ride a bike to school.  

In the 1970s, around 60% of school children engaged in active travel on the way to and from class, but this figure has steadily declined in the decades since. Today, more than two thirds of students arrive by car instead. 

By collaborating with students and schools to encourage healthy habits around active travel, Bicycle Network is working year-round to reverse this trend.  

Its Open Streets trials – where selected streets are opened to active transport only during drop-off and pick-up times – are another way Bicycle Network is making inroads in this space.  

‘We are very proud to be reaching active travel rates of over 70% during Ride2School Day and during our Bicycle Network Open Streets trials,’ said Gabby Young, Physical Education teacher at Coburg North Primary School. 

The impressive turnout for National Ride2School Day 2023 is a promising sign that the disruptions of recent years are behind us, and we can continue sowing the seeds for a new generation of active travellers.  

“Thank you to all the schools, students, and families who took part in National Ride2School Day 2023,” says Bicycle Network’s Ride2School Program Manager, Manon Dolet.  

“Actively traveling to school is fun, keeps us healthy, reduces our carbon footprint, fights climate change, and gets us focused for a full day of learning! We already can’t wait for the 2024 edition … but of course, at Bicycle Network, we believe every day should be Ride2School Day!” 

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The free, annual event for primary and secondary schools in Australia is set to be the biggest since it began.

Registered schools gain access to helpful resources to ensure things run smoothly, including posters, stickers and count sheets to keep track of participation numbers.  

National Ride2School Day celebrates active travel and many schools create their own events and use the day to set the tone for year-round healthy habits. It is hoped 450 Victorian schools will take part in 2023.  

Albion Primary School in Melbourne’s west began participating in Ride2School day in 2020, but now runs monthly wheel and walk to school days.  

Keysborough Secondary College is organising a “slow bicycle race” on National Ride2School Day 2023 to test the students’ balance. It will also set up a “smoothie bike” and encourage students to pedal to blend up their smoothies. Staff hope to create a “ride to school bus” within the next five years.

Enthusiasm levels are also high at Willowbank Primary School, which saw about 90% of kids participate last year. Another strong turnout is anticipated for 2023.

More than 80% of school children rode or walked to school in the 1970s, compared to more than 66% who arrive by car today

National Ride2School Day is part of a broader effort to reverse this trend and participation numbers reached a record of 370,000 in 2022.  

For registrations and more information go to ride2school.com.au.

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The change of pace comes via a partnership with the City of Stonnington to trial the initiative across three days in the month of February.  

Part of Summerhill Avenue was opened up to active travel only during the morning drop-off and afternoon pickup, encouraging kids, parents and teachers to leave the car at home and walk or pedal instead.  

Non-residential motor traffic was diverted with prior messaging, traffic controllers and clear signage.

But transport was only part of the experience, with many kids arriving early to make the most of the open street, turning it into a buzzing makeshift playground for hula hooping, chalk-drawing, riding, skating and scooting.

The same was true after the final bell, with many students sticking around to enjoy the safer and calmer stretch of road before making their way home.  

Families unable to cover the entire journey with active travel were encouraged to park in designated streets nearby and walk, ride, skate or scoot the final leg. Remember part way is ok! 

By turning the public street into a peaceful space for recreation, Open Streets offers a glimpse of a school zones free of car congestion with the aim of helping create healthier, more vibrant communities.  

The first Open Streets trials in the City of Stonnington follows successful trials with Merri-bek City Council in 2021 and 2021, where 5 trials took place as part of Merri-bek’s Ride & Stride Program. 

And further exciting developments are in the works, with plans underway to expand the Open Streets trials into new areas in 2023.  

The good news is kids all around the country can get into the spirit of active travel this month, by celebrating National Ride2School day on March 24.  

Join the more than 350,000 students who take part around the country by registering your school here. 

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