Walking School Bus

Walking School Bus

All Aboard Arlington’s Us Bus!

Walking to school has undeniable benefits for mental and physical health. Arlington County has long encouraged the use of active transportation, and Arlington families are always on the lookout for new ways to make it easy for students to travel to school using muscle power.

Walking School Buses are one way to make walking to school easier for families while maximizing the health benefits of walking for students and reducing congestion and pollution in neighborhoods around schools. A Walking School Bus is defined as a group of students walking to school with one or more adults. It can be as informal as two families taking turns walking their students to school or as structured as a planned route with meeting points, a timetable, and a schedule of trained volunteers.

The “Us Bus” is a new Arlington initiative that matches senior adult volunteers with Arlington elementary students/families to engage seniors and support students walking to school. Thanks to a unique Arlington County partnership among the Commission on Aging’s Age-Friendly Arlington Initiative, Arlington County’s 55+ Program, WalkArlington and Virginia Safe Routes to School, a successful Arlington Public Schools (APS) pilot with Oakridge Elementary School in Spring 2022, and a generous grant from the Arlington Community Foundation, the Us Bus is taking steps to expand to other schools and neighborhoods around the County.

GET ON BOARD!

The Us Bus is LOOKING FOR ADULT VOLUNTEERS to help lead our Walking School Buses at elementary schools around Arlington AND FAMILIES/STUDENTS who live in school walk zones and would like to join the Us Bus Walking School Bus!

Volunteers set their own schedules!

Each Us Bus outing requires only about ONE HOUR of your time.

Whether an hour or so one morning or a few hours over several days a week,
the schedule is UP TO YOU!

THIS BUS IS US!

Taking the First Step

Whether you are interested in getting on board or just want additional information, click on the appropriate link below:

The Us Bus team provides support and resources, but we need Walking School Bus “drivers” (adult leaders), “passengers” (students), and “fuel” (community partners) to help bring the Us Bus to more schools and neighborhoods around Arlington County.

For more information, please complete this CONTACT FORM.

There’s room for all…
VOLUNTEERS, FAMILIES/STUDENTS, and COMMUNITY MEMBERS
to

GET ON BOARD!