The bicycle trains, or CicloExpressos, continue to reach more areas of the Lisbon metropolitan area. In Quinta do Anjo, in Palmela, around thirty children now cycle to school every Tuesday.
Bicycle trains to school, a project of the Bicicultura cooperative, have arrived in the municipality of Palmela, more specifically in Quinta do Anjo. On the inaugural trip, which took place last Tuesday, February 27th, they cycled more than 35 children - a record number of participants in this project, which was born in Lisbon and has been extended to other cities.
While in Lisbon the "trains" are already a municipal program, part of the city council's strategy for school mobility, in other municipalities they are still in the pilot phase. The idea is to experiment, adjust and eventually integrate the initiative into the municipality's regular activities. That's what happened at Costa da Caparica, in AlmadaIn the end, the "trains" were not continued. Palmela is also at this stage, where everything seems to indicate that the project is set to continue.
Bicycle trains to school, or CicloExpressos, have been launched at EB António Matos Fortuna, in Quinta do Anjo. Accompanied by adult monitors ("train drivers"), the children made their way along roads in the interior of the neighborhoods and also along some more rural dirt tracks. The train's "line" is six kilometers long and has several intermediate stops, where the different participants get on and join the group. Some fathers and mothers also wanted to take part in the activity and made the journey together with their little ones.
The CicloExpresso will be running at EB António Matos Fortuna until the end of this school year, at least every Tuesday and with this route. The departure point was at 8.05 am, in Cabanas, and the arrival at the school was at 8.45 am. Bicicultura guaranteed the training of the six current local train drivers. Rodrigo Xavier is one of them. A former pupil at EB António Matos Fortuna, living in Quinta do Anjo, he decided to join the project because of the "willingness to collaborate and be closer to the children and the village". "I took advantage of these days to combine it with teleworking, so that I could reconcile the two activities"he says, describing the trains as "A very comforting experience. When I go to work, I already have a smile on my face for having accompanied the children in the morning".
On Tuesday's inaugural trip, Rodrigo was accompanied by more experienced "drivers" from Bicicultura, but the idea is that, in the coming weeks, the local monitors will be able to continue the project independently, always in dialogue, of course, with the cooperative. The first official outing of the CicloExpresso in Quinta do Anjo was attended by children with more experience of cycling and others with less. The role of the "drivers" is also to provide the necessary support to all participants who need it. Sandra Rodrigues, the mother of a 9-year-old 4th grader who is also a driver, says that they were enthusiastic about the CicloExpresso from the very first moment and that she even went to her son's school. "the great driving force" membership. "We used to cycle and thought it would be interesting to join the group so we could build a better future"he explains, confessing that the experience is being "very good and rewarding". "Instead of all of us standing in a traffic queue and having all that morning stress, things go much more smoothly and they're much happier"mentions.
The Bike to School trains aim to promote sustainable mobility, enable children to cycle safely and playfully and provide an alternative way of getting to school. The project's implementation in the municipality of Palmela is the result of a partnership between Palmela Town Council, Bicicultura and EB António Matos Fortuna. Sónia Durão, the coordinator of this school, who had already promoted a Pedibus (or "pedestrian trains"), explains that he had already been working with the municipality on ideas to promote cycling to school and that the CicloExpresso project ended up "falling from the sky". "I heard about this cooperative, Bicicultura, which was developing these bicycle trains for the school. I went to see them and I was delighted"he says. "We believe that when children cycle to school they will bring someone with them, accompanying them, and this can help change habits."
The Councillor for the Environment and Mobility, Fernanda Pésinho, who took part in the first circulation, also speaks of a "perfect marriage" between entities, since "the municipality's aim, like the school's, is to promote soft mobility and thus contribute to reducing greenhouse gas emissions". "This school has been a good example in encouraging soft mobility"He praised the bicycle trains as a way of providing children with "come safely and in a fun way to school" and, at the same time, "it's good for the environment and strengthens bonds of closeness and friendship". "Let's put individual transportation aside"Fernanda challenged.
The current route and stops can be adjusted according to new registrations, which can be made by here. For their part, interested "train drivers" can also sign up to accompany children from Quinta do Anjo and other towns with CicloExpressos, here.
