On April 10th and 11th, Worcester will be host city for the World Bike Bus Summit in 2025, with leaders from cycling communities in North America, Europe and across the UK convening to amplify and drive independent mobility for children cycling to school. The summit is a grassroots initiative organised by Bike Bus volunteers from around the world to enable and encourage collaboration, knowledge exchange and connections. Its purpose is to create networks between advocates, ensuring Bike Buses continue to grow, creating energy and demand for politicians and decision makers to invest in safe routes for children. Previous summits have been held in Barcelona and Frankfurt.
Bike Worcester has an exciting programme of events to run alongside the summit, with the aim to showcase the strides Worcester has made in active travel in the past few years.
Duncan Dollimore, Head of Campaigns at Cycling UK, said: “Worcester is a fantastic demonstration of the impact of Bike Buses. Hundreds more children now cycle to and from school thanks to committed volunteers at Bike Worcester who engaged schools, parents and their communities to build support for this superb initiative.
“We’ve highlighted time and time again how investment in cycling infrastructure is essential if we want to support more women, children, and less confident riders to start cycling for local journeys. Bike Buses prove how invested communities are in finding more healthy and greener ways to travel and are a great way to showcase the benefits of more people cycling.”
Katie Collier, Bike Bus Volunteer coordinator and Summit organiser, said ‘I’m so excited to meet so many inspirational and amazing leaders all in Worcester. Every single person is having an impact on their local community, improving health outcomes and contributing to better air quality and environment. The atmosphere is going to be amazing. Every day we get such a fantastic response from the communities around the schools we support. It gives us more confidence and determination to demand more child-friendly cities.”
Dan Brothwell, Chair of Bike Worcester, said ‘This is a massive event for the city, and could really put us on the map; we’re super excited about the event and we’ve had lots of encouragement from the City Council, local businesses and other organisations such as Cycling UK and Sustrans.
Yes, we still need safe cycling routes across the city centre and a network of segregated routes throughout Worcester, and in an ideal world Bike Buses wouldn’t be needed, but for the time being this offers school children the opportunity to travel to school under their own steam. Bike Buses offer multiple benefits to physical and mental health, the environment, and traffic congestion. You’ve got to be a real sourpuss to find anything negative to say about a Bike Bus.”
Worcester MP Tom Collins, volunteer on the Nunnery Wood Primary School Bike Bus, said ‘Our local bike bus has made a huge difference to families who otherwise could never cycle safely to school. It’s great fun and brings people together. It’s brilliant that Worcester is making its mark on the world by hosting the Bike Bus summit. Our communities deserve the best and this is a chance for us to lead and see more positive change.’
The concept of Bike Buses is growing in popularity across the UK, and now booming across Worcester City. Bike Worcester has helped set up 14 Bike Bus routes at ten schools in Worcester over the last 24 months. Bike Buses support and encourage children and their parents to cycle to school each week on an organised route, and have grown in areas that lack safe cycling infrastructure to local schools (i.e. nearly all of Worcester). Volunteer leaders, who are often parents, coordinate the groups setting off safely and crossing at junctions, which gives families a safe space and confidence to cycle together.
Bike Worcester is a dedicated group set up 6 years ago to promote safe and accessible cycling in Worcester. Visit www.bikeworcester.org.uk for more information on events, Bike Recycling or school Bike Buses or search @BikeWorcester on X and Facebook and BikeWorcester99 on Instagram
About Bike Worcester
Bike Worcester represents a growing community of hundreds of local people based in and around Worcester who are fans of the bicycle and regularly use a bike as a mode of transport. Most of our members also use other forms of transport, including private cars, buses, trains, wheelchairs, mobility scooters and their own two feet. Our focus is not on total prevention of cars or private vehicles, we want to make it easier and safer for other people to make journeys by bike; to school, work, or for leisure. With support from the City and County Councils they are making genuine progress, enabling and encouraging more people, including families and children, to use their bikes, especially for short journeys within the city.
Our Approach
We believe in a focused and inclusive approach, listening to the needs of the community and collaborating with local authorities and organisations to create positive change. We are committed to:
- Advocating for better cycling infrastructure, including connected routes and safe facilities
- Promoting cycling through events, training, and positive messaging
- Supporting cyclists of all ages and abilities through resources and community programs
- Making cycling accessible by providing affordable bikes and maintenance support
www.bikeworcester.org.uk/bikebus
A Bike Bus is a brilliant way to support and encourage primary-school children to cycle to school, reducing traffic and giving families the experience of cycling together. Bike Buses can also improve on-road cycling proficiency, with the safety of being directed by adults and surrounded by other children cycling.
In April 2025, Bike Worcester is hosting the Global Bike Bus Summit – over 100 people from all over the world will visit to share demands from local decision makers to make space for children to travel actively and independently.
www.bikeworcester.org.uk/global-bike-bus-summit-2025/schedule
