By Ellen Schwartze, School & Community Engagement Coordinator
Just in time for International Bike/Walk to School Day, Hale Cook Elementary, part of Kansas City Public Schools, has launched a bike bus for students. According to data from Bike Bus World, it’s the first bike bus in the Kansas City metro area.
The new program is being led by a group of parents from the school with planning support from BikeWalkKC.
The bike rack is overflowing!
Kiley Sutter, a Hale Cook parent and owner of Velo Garage in North Kansas City, was excited for the opportunity to start a bike bus:
“I already loved riding to school with my daughter, so the idea of starting a bike bus made a ton of sense. From our first meeting there has been an energy to this idea that keeps growing, and I hope to see even more kids join each week.”
The first ride in September saw more than 15 students and 8 adult volunteers along two routes to pick up kids. Having a set of reliable adult volunteers allows older children to join in even if their parents can’t, removing one barrier to riding to school.
Advocacy in action: Wornall road diet & Trolley Trail connector create a safe route for students
The newly completed Wornall Road road diet played a part in the success of Hale Cook’s bike bus, too. The new signalled crosswalk between 74th Terrace & 75th Street—with flashing lights and a protected median—allows students to safely cross this busy street. The improvements are related to the City’s Vision Zero plan.
Hale Cook’s north route uses the Trolley Track Trail, an off-street crushed gravel trail that is often pointed to as one of Kansas City’s safest pieces of cycling infrastructure. The separation from traffic makes it an easy choice when choosing routes for young riders. (Border Star Elementary in Brookside also uses the trail for their annual Bike/Walk to School Day event.) Wornall’s road diet also added a 10-foot, mixed-use path to connect the Trolley Trail between 74th & 75th Streets. Previously, trail users had to cut through parking lots.
What is a bike bus?
Currently being made famous by Coach Balto on TikTok and Instagram, a bike bus is an organized group of students and adults who ride a set route to school. Students can join anywhere along the route, so the group grows as it approaches the school, just how a school bus picks up students.
Bike buses have been linked to numerous positive benefits for students and families, including improved physical fitness and focus at school, a better connection to their community, safer streets, and net-positive impacts to the environment. Exercise before school boosts brain function, focus, and readiness to learn, improving academic performance.
The Trolley Track Trail gives the Hale Cook Bike Bus a safe route to school.
Is your school ready for a bike bus?
Anyone can start a bike bus! Reach out to Ellen Schwartze at BikeWalkKC for more information.
February 3, 2026: Bike Bus Info Night! Click here to learn more about the event and register.
Ellen is an enthusiastic cyclist with a terrible sense of direction. She leads KC Family Bike Ride (in a straight line) and works with BikeWalkKC to encourage and enable families across the metro to ride for fun and function.