Dozens of Austin students left the car and bus ride behind on Friday, opting instead to bike to school.
They rode for Bike to School Day, a health and safety initiative sponsored by "Safe Routes to School."
According to a city health director, only two percent of Austin students currently walk or ride a bicycle to school.
On Friday, he along with teachers, bicycling professionals and police officers met up at the Comacho Activity Center in Central East Austin. They brought along dozens of bicycles and helmets and outfitted Martin Middle School students with a ride to campus.
Crowds of children got off the bus early to grab a bicycle instead for the rest of the trip to campus. So many students wanted to ride, that they ran out of bikes and had to turn away some in the crowd.
The students say they felt healthier riding a bike; that is part of the goal. The program is also meant to relieve traffic and raise awareness about developing safe routes for students to get to school.
A new incentive program launched in Austin called Boltage. Boltage is a scanning device that is posted outside a school near the bike rack. Students who ride a bike to school can get a specialized card and wave it under the scanner each time they ride to school. Every ride makes the eligible for a give-aways.
Currently, three Austin Independent School District schools have Boltage including Martin Middle School.
Since launching programs such as Bike to School Day, health experts say the number of children opting to ride or walk to school has slowly started rising. One AISD campus, for example, had just one student biker before hosting a similar event; now there are at least eight. It may be slow, but it is steady progress.
