Students in Montclair, NJ started a 'bike bus' riding to and from school together by the hundreds
MONTCLAIR, New Jersey (WABC) -- How did you get to school as a young student every morning?
For students in Montclair, New Jersey, it's standard to ride a bike as far as 5 miles.
They do it in big groups called 'bike buses' to build health habits and they have fun doing it.
"On a good weather day, we'll have up to about 400 parents and kids riding to all of our schools across town," Bike Bus organizer Andrew Hawkins said.
Community advocates are also ditching the school bus in favor of the bright yellow vests as part of the town's bike bus.
"So it started with just a small group of parents who wanted to ride with their bikes to school. So we came together and started talking to each other and decided, you know, like, this is something that is we could actually make it a lot bigger than it could be," Hawkins said.
Anyone with a helmet and a bike can ride along.
"It really does create this sense of you're not alone in your vehicle, looking out at the world and feeling trapped here together with this group of people. And you realize you want to take care of that group of people," Jessica Tillyer said.
It's also a healthy way to start the day.
Studies show a short amount of morning exercise, like a bike or even a walk to school, can help young students build healthy habits that last a lifetime.
Organizers are advocating for safe streets, including designated bike paths and walkways.
"Something that I often remind our town council members, because they're in their fifties or sixties or seventies, is, 'hey, when you were a kid, how did you get around? Oh, you walked and biked.' That's not possible for kids now because we have created such unsafe roadways," Tillyer said.
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