The percentage of people biking to both Monta Vista and Cupertino High Schools have shown a slight upward trend, currently around 15% (Tino) and 12% (MV) of the student population. This is fairly typical of our local high schools, with the exception of Homestead High School, which has seen a slight drop in overall student bike use.
In order to continue this upward trend, students and parents must learn about and get comfortable with the safe and efficient routes to their school.
A great way to easily and safely ride to school each day is to have a bike bus of students who ride together on a designated safe route to school.
This year was the second annual bike bus for Cupertino High incoming freshmen to do just that. It was held on their orientation day, August 13, to ensure students are ready for biking to school on their first day.
The main concern for all parents is their children’s safety. The best route also means the safest route. For Cupertino High, six routes were developed ahead of time and ridden by previous students, Safe Routes to School group members, and parents. The routes were created based on maximum safety and proximity to every student across the entire attendance zone for Cupertino High. The 49 students who signed up for the Bike Bus were then ‘sorted’ into the different routes based on the shortest distance from a meeting point to their homes.
Efficiency was considered as well. Some routes had stops built in along the way, so students were not required to back-track from their homes. Even with these stops, no route is over 15 minutes. This means that no matter where a student lives in the Cupertino High attendance zone, they can bike to school in 15 minutes or less. This makes it a convenient option for getting to school, not only freeing up the family vehicle (and saving parents’ time) but also battling climate change. If a student bikes to school an entire semester, it is the equivalent CO2 savings as planting 43 trees.
Some students may not have working bikes. To help with this problem, Cupertino High in conjunction with Safe Routes to School and Walk Bike Cupertino will be hosting a bike repair session on September 27. Students can bring their broken bicycles or bicycles that need a tune-up to school to be repaired for free. Another option is the Cupertino Bike Fest on September 28. At the Bike Fest, one bike per family–youth or adult bike, or from any school–can be repaired at the bike repair station. (Note: some parts are available, but not all are, so not every bike will be able to be repaired.)