Photo: zaqi's flickr photostream (creative commons)

Elementary school students in Italy are serving as line leaders to the growing trend of kids who walk to school instead of taking the bus. Hoping to curb childhood obesity, reduce traffic jams and lower greenhouse gas emissions, schools in Europe and the United States are returning to old-school transportation (sorry, couldn’t resist), by organizing adult supervised foot “buses”  or piedibuses in Italian.  I used to love walking to school with my parents, and although I was sometimes late despite being a couple blocks away, it was always a fun way to start the morning and shake off the sleepys.  I think the organized walks are a brilliant and healthy way to solve both health and environmental concerns.  I’m sure it also helps develop social skills, and for those trips monitored by parents, a chance to take time to connect with sons and daughters.  According to the New York Times, we could certainly use more of the programs:

The number of children who are driven to school over all is rising in the United States and Europe, experts on both continents say, making up a sizable chunk of transportation’s contribution to greenhouse-gas emissions. The “school run” made up 18 percent of car trips by urban residents of Britain last year, a national survey showed.

Long distance commutes and crummy weather are no doubt obstacles for some students, but hopefully clever organization, student incentives and community involvement will encourage more schools and families to take to the streets, or sidewalks rather.  It will certainly develop a healthy habit later on in life, when cars often become all the rage.
takepart by getting involved with the Safe Routes program here in the U.S. and help get kids to school in greener and healthier style.