Students Hop on Walking School Bus

Taking the bus is all the rage these days for some elementary school students—but it's not the classic yellow school bus. Instead, students are joining walking school buses that have sprouted around the city as part of the Healthways-Blue Zones Vitality City initiative.

, , and elementary schools all have started walking school bus programs within the past year.

The "bus," which consist of at least two parent volunteers and children, starts a few blocks away from the elementary school's campus at 7:40 a.m. As a group, participants walk to school, making occasional stops along the way to pick up more students.

The most recent school to launch a walking school bus was Birney Elementary in North Redondo Beach. Councilmen Steven Diels and Matthew Kilroy joined the group, which swelled to more than three dozen students during the short walk to campus, while Jeff Mendence from the kept an eye on traffic.

"This was, without a doubt, the biggest one," said Kilroy, who was participating in his third walking school bus launch. "It's a perfect day."

According to an information sheet provided by , students who walk to school are more alert and ready to learn, strengthen their social networks, can develop lifetime fitness habits, and help reduce traffic.