The organizer’s kit

Six things you will actually use, free, no email required. The messages are written to be pasted; the worksheets are made to be printed and filled in on a corner. They pair with the guide.

The note to the school office

Send this to the front office a week before your first ride. It informs; it does not ask permission, because none is needed for public streets.

Who to send it to, and what happens next

Subject: Heads-up, a parent-run bike bus starting on Fridays

Hi office name,

A few of us are starting a bike bus (a group of families riding to school together) beginning date. We will arrive by bike at about time on Friday mornings, roughly number riders, entering at which gate.

This is parent-organized and parent-led on public streets; we are not asking the school to run or staff anything. We wanted the front desk and the crossing guard to know to expect a group, and we would love to know if there is a better spot to park the bikes.

If the school has a Safe Routes to School contact, I would appreciate an introduction.

Thanks, your name, your child's grade parent

The recruitment message

Short version for the class group chat; longer version for a PTA newsletter or a post. Written to be forwarded.

Why three families is enough to start

GROUP CHAT VERSION

We’re starting a bike bus to school: riding together as a group on Friday mornings, adults front and back, leaving corner at time. Kids of any confidence level welcome; grown-ups set the pace of the slowest rider. Want in for the first ride on date? Reply here and I’ll add you to the group.

NEWSLETTER / POST VERSION

A bike bus is starting at school: families riding to school together on a set route with adults at the front and back, the same morning every week. It leaves first stop at time on Fridays and picks up riders at corners along the way, so children ride with the group rather than alone. No cost, no commitment beyond turning up with a bike and a helmet. To join or ask questions: contact.

The route worksheet

Print it, ride your candidate route with another adult, and fill it in on a corner. Two test rides: one quiet, one at real school-run time.

How to choose the streets

#	Stop (corner)	Families near it
1
2
3
4
5
★	School gate	arrival

Every crossing on the route, listed: which adult waits at each one?
The one bad crossing: does it work on the signals and gaps already there, or route around it?
Pace check: distance ÷ 5–8 mph. Does the timing work for the slowest rider?
Ridden at actual school-run time, not just the weekend?
If a family is late: which stop do they join, will an adult be there, and who messages them?

The first-ride checklist

The night before and the morning of. Budget half again the time your test ride took.

The night before

Weather call made and posted in the group chat
Adults confirmed: lead, caboose, crossing(s); named, not implied
Pump, multi-tool, and a phone at the back of the ride
Families reminded of first-stop time (wheels roll, not gather)

The morning

Adults at posts before the first stop’s posted time
Roll at the posted minute, whoever is there
Group stops at every crossing; crossing adult waits in view of drivers; all cross on the signal or gap
Photos: your own kids, or with permission only
At the gate: note what went wrong while it is fresh
Afternoon: two-line recap in the chat; the best recruitment there is

The role cards

One per adult. Print and hand them out so 'who does what' is settled before the first crossing, not at it.

LEAD

Ride at the front. Nobody passes you.
Set the pace of the slowest rider.
Call each stop and each crossing early and loudly.
You decide: roll, wait, or walk it.

CABOOSE

Ride at the back. Nobody falls behind you.
Carry the pump, the multi-tool, and a phone.
Mechanical trouble stops with you, not the group. Tell the lead, so they know they are an adult down.
Count riders at each stop; signal the lead when clear.

CROSSING

Dismount at the crossing before the group arrives.
Stand where drivers can see you. You are not directing traffic.
Cross on the signal, or on a real gap. Never against a red.
Stay until every rider is across; nobody crosses solo.
If the group gets split, an adult stays with each half.
Rejoin at the back, behind the caboose.

The cancellation message

Paste, fill two blanks, post. The point is that the 6:15 call is a paste, not a composition. A missed message is a family waiting at a corner in the rain.

Deciding at six in the morning

🚫🚲 No bike bus this morning (date): calling it off for reason. See everyone next ride day at the usual time. If you’re already at a stop: sorry, and get warm!

And the “we ride” version, because silence reads as doubt on a gray morning:

✅🚲 Bike bus is ON this morning: bit of weather, so fenders and layers. Wheels roll from first stop at the usual time.

Use them, change them, hand them to another school: no attribution needed. If they helped, the one favor worth asking: when your bike bus rides, add it to the directory so the next family can find it.