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Le Fetus, qu’est-ce que c’est?
Very widespread in Anglo-Saxon countries, the pedestrian bus is starting to attract many followers in France.
Imagine a school bus service, without a bus… It does not pollute, teaches children to move around, makes them do a little sport and helps parents who have to go to work very early! Undoubtedly, the pedibus – or pedestrian school bus – is “the” solution needed for our little schoolchildren.
How it works, here it is: several parents living in the same district organize themselves to, in turn, accompany the children voluntarily to school, on foot. Pedibuses have already been operating for a few years in certain French cities. In the United States, Canada or Great Britain, this mode of transport is very widespread.
Les «plus» du Fede
Green schoolchildren
In France, two out of three children are accompanied to school by car, while on average, it is less than a kilometer from home. You might learn it: it’s the shortest journeys that pollute the most. Going with your children to school on foot or by bike when the distance allows it means getting around intelligently! In addition to protecting the planet, you also save fuel.
A safe journey
Developing pedestrian buses makes it possible to reduce the number of vehicles around school groups and, therefore, to limit accidents.
The Pedibus is also a means of teaching small pedestrians the traffic rules. Along the way, the accompanying parents explain the signs or the priorities, to prepare them to fend for themselves, one day, on their own!
Being active is good for your health!
Walking ten or fifteen minutes a day prevents the risk of obesity. The children arrive in class oxygenated, in great shape to start the day.
A spirit of solidarity
Every morning, it’s the race: take the dog out, drop off the children at school, arrive on time at the office… The Pédibus frees parents in a hurry. You go to work with peace of mind, knowing your offspring in good hands, those of your neighbors! Tomorrow or the day after, it will be your turn to accompany the little schoolchildren.
Set up a Pedibus
Two or three motivated parents, it’s already the start of a project! The first thing to do: circulate the idea in the neighborhood to see if other families are willing to set up a Pedibus.
You can involve partners: the town hall, the school, Ademe *, the road prevention, environmental protection associations … which, it is certain, will give you a helping hand.
Your municipality can, for example, develop the roads or provide vests with reflective bands to accompanying parents.
Create an association, why not?
Two possibilities are available to you: organize a walking bus on a simple informal agreement between the parents or create an association. The first solution seems perhaps the easiest to implement. But setting up the project within an associative framework has a significant advantage: it allows, if one of the children is injured on the journey, to relieve the accompanying persons of their responsibility in favor of the civil liability of the association.
Then, all that remains is to establish a “schedule” according to the availability of each parent. Here we go !
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