Speaker
Description
The Bike Bus initiative, which involves families cycling together to school along predetermined routes, has gained traction globally to promote active mobility among children and reduce reliance on cars for school commutes. While previous studies have primarily focused on quantitative outcomes like modal change potential, this research explores the Bike Bus's deeper social and cultural meanings in two distinct urban contexts: Barcelona and Frankfurt.
Utilizing mobile methods, including participant observation and interviews, the study examines how participants in these cities experience and imbue the Bike Bus with a purpose beyond its practical utility. In Barcelona, the Bike Bus movement has fostered an activist community and reinforced the city's emerging family cycling practices. In contrast, Frankfurt’s Bike Buses operate within an environment of consolidated cycling practices; their interest is to collaborate with the City Council to organize more Bike Buses that encourage families to cycle.
The findings reveal that while the Bike Bus is a practical solution for school commutes, it also plays a critical role in community building, cycling advocacy, and local mobility practices. This study contributes to a broader understanding of how community-led initiatives can influence urban mobility and foster a culture of cycling, particularly in diverse environments.
Biography
Gemma Simón i Mas is a PhD student at the Institute for Environmental Science and Technology at the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona (ICTA-UAB). Her research is on urban cycling among children and youth through the Bike Bus initiative. She has three case studies: Barcelona, Zaragoza and Lisbon. She has worked with the Urban Ecology Agency of the City of Barcelona and as a cycling instructor at the cooperative Biciclot. Her undergraduate degree is in Environmental Science from the University of Valencia and she holds a Masters Degree in Interdisciplinary Studies on Environmental, Economic and Social Sustainability from ICTA-UAB.
