It’s a bus that transports children but there’s no driver and no engine. “Walking School Buses” are headed to schools near you this spring, through the Spokane Regional Health District’s Safe Routes to School program. The “buses” are groups of children walking together, with adult volunteers who pick up more children as they progress on the route. They’re aimed at encouraging exercise, keeping kids safe and reducing vehicles on the roadway that would otherwise be driving these kids to school.
In advance of the program’s launch in April at Holmes and Seth Woodard elementary schools, practice runs have been underway. The Spokesman-Review went along for the “ride” yesterday.