In Normandy, there is an atypical school bus service. In certain municipalities of the agglomeration of Seine-Eure (Seine-Maritime), around Louviers and Val-de-Reuil, around thirty kilometers from Rouen, children go to school in S’Cool Bus. Dressed in an orange vest, they wait for this collective wooden bike in front of their home to pedal to class.
Free and fun, the initiative, spotted by the French Federation of Things That Workof which 20 minutes is a partner, aims to be economical, ecological and energetic.
What is the S’Cool Bus?
This is a collective bike that allows you to travel between home and school. The S’Cool Bus weighs 200 kg for 1.15 m in width and 1.90 m in height, which “gives it the possibility of passing on greenways, cycle paths or even a classic road while remaining visible” , indicates Bernard Leroy, president of the Seine-Eure Agglomeration.
The vehicle, previously of Dutch origin but now supplied by the Nantes company Humbird, is electrically assisted. It contains nine seats, for one adult and eight children, aged 6 to 11, with nine independent pedals. “The vehicle is 100% French, with Landes wood and a Valeo engine,” explains Valérie Van Messem, Soft Mobility project manager at the Agglo Seine-Eure.
How it works ?
Born in 2017, the device was stopped in 2020 for a question of vehicle approval. But the S’Cool Bus is making a comeback this year since April. With three vehicles, it serves three municipalities: Le Manoir-sur-Seine, Le Vaudreuil and Pont-de-l’Arche. “In each of them, we have a school which is served all year round, from the start of the school year to the last day of school, from Monday to Friday” explains Louis Lemel, the operations manager of S’Cool Bus.
Like a classic bus, this bike bus follows a defined route which, instead of stopping at a bus stop, “stops in front of the children’s homes at a designated time, to arrive at the school before the first ringing” specifies Louis Lemel. In the evening, the same process goes in the opposite direction: the driver picks up the children in front of the school and drops them off at home one by one.
These are not the same 8 schoolchildren who benefit from it all year round. “Every month, we have a different circuit, and a rotation of beneficiaries is operated so that as many children as possible can use the S’Cool Bus,” he adds.
What is the purpose behind all this?
“The final objective is to encourage the use of bicycles, especially in an area like ours. We must have this reflex and not the car reflex. » assures Bernard Leroy. And for good reason, the territory is ideal: “more than 70 kilometers of cycle paths have been created,” he emphasizes.
In addition to the fact that the S’Cool Bus is free, it allows children to better understand driving a bike by seeing the driver act: wearing a vest and a helmet, indicating with their hand when turning, etc. “We see that between two trips on the S’Cool bus, 50% of the students came to school by bike. Some even took their bikes and followed the vehicle,” reports the president of the Seine-Eure Agglomeration.
And the teachers seem satisfied too. “Many tell us that in the morning, their schoolchildren are awake and more attentive. At the next school year, ten more S’Cool buses should be put into service in six other municipalities in the conurbation, to make as many people happy as possible,” concludes Louis Lemel.