to think that this might go some way to sorting the school run problem?

[Dontsshme]

Would you use one of these if it didn't cost you anything? Assume no outlay and the school gets a subsidy or at the very least some good publicity?

Dontsshme - do you make or sell them?

I had a bakfiets, with just 2 wheels. It was easy to ride, the girls both loved it, and it made short trips like our school run easy, quick and fun. Not possible if you have to go uphill much at all, and yes, you then either leave it at the school, ride it home and take the tube/bus/car/usual route to work, or ride it to work. Riding it to work is fine if you can, as the 2-wheeler is more navigable, easy to ride without a load (ie DC in it), less of a block to traffic etc than the trikes, but not everyone lives close enough to cycle to work. I took my girls about 8km on quiet streets, and along parks, so I wasn't too worried about exhaust height; very rarely were we actually parked behind a running vehicle for long. Now I've sold it as we walk to school and I don't need it to cycle with DD2, who has a standard seat.

The main problem: they cost more than a second hand car, or a vacation for 4 (or 2 or 3 vacations depending where you go :) ). New, they are about 1700£ or more! The trikes aren't cheap either. And you have to store it somewhere. Having to get it out awkwardly can make it not worth it, time-wise, compared to walking. You'd have to store it at work or the school, too, and it's so expensive that you don't want to leave it out...

No it would make it 10 x worse

I cycle with ds1 (9) on his bike and ds2 (3) in the trailer. Unfortunately I can only do this one day a week as every other day I then have to drive 10 miles to work. It's tight getting there on time in the car, dropping ds off at nursery on the way. There's nowhere at work to park a bike (much less bike/trailer combo) and worse still no shower facilities. If all of those were different then cycling would be an option

What is wrong with a scooter? Those things look like a death trap to me. Far too wide to be safe on the roads, and wouldn't fit between the bollards to go on the cycle path.

Very Gwyneth Paltrow.

In holland the kids carry umbrellas even on the backs of bikes. We saw 1 mum and child combo who were both carrying brollies ! cycling one handed by a canal carrying a "sail" wouldn't be my choice but clearly it ws normal !

I don't sell or make one and I've never even been on one! But the school run is cracking me up! There must be another way!
I currently drive there. I have three very young children, and if we walked, two of th would be spending an hour and a half a day strapped in a pram. They are too young to scoot, and even if they could, what to you do if the adult-child ratio is 1:3 and one of the kids bolts?
If we cycled, most of the journey is on quiet roads through an estate and a bit of main road with a cycle lane. The last couple of hundred yards is a hideous bottle neck as it serves two nurseries, one pre school, two primaries and two secondary schools. It's awful.
If a small proportion of parents used bikes like this when possible (ie warm/dry weather) it'd alleviate some of the strain. The only other alternative seems to be tarmacking a whole playground.

Well, I think your solution is easier than a bakfiets.

My 5 yo in reception cycles on her own bike. For long distances (3+ miles) she rides on a trailing bike. ie, a bike extension with a wheel and saddle that bolts onto the back of any bike. It take a bit of getting used to, but the child can pedal and therefore (in theory) help propel.

So put oldest school age child on their own bike

put 3 (ish??) year old on trailing bike

Put standard bike seat on the rear of your bike for your youngest.

I used to walk to school (15 minutes walk ) with 5 year old on bike and 2 year old walking or on bike with stabilisers, and baby in buggy. We allowed enough time for toddler walking, and on the way home she sometimes rode shotgun on buggy.

Or buggy on the way there and let them out to potter home slowly

No, not on the route we have to take to school.

I'd happily ride it on the 30mph residential roads on the way to the park though.

So buy yourself one if you think it will make your school run easier. But why does it need to be subsidised?

fuck no... the route to school would be too dangerous.

I would if it was all 30mph or lower roads but not on dual carriageways and ringroads.

The implementation model I'm considering is similar to that of the so called Boris bikes, with input from Serco and Barclays. It's a large outlay and in order to reduce congestion there has to be some "pump priming" to get the project moving.
Congestion is something that is dealt with by county councils but with Public Health moving from NHS to council control it's a good opportunity for communities to commission innovative services, or at least pilot them.

Ah yes, thinking through the logistics I'm not sure it would be practical!

I think they look fun.

But it would take us longer to get to school on one that it does at the moment when we walk.

By the time it was out of the shed and I'd unlocked the gates at the back and walked around to the front with it and gone back out the back to lock the gates and got DS strapped in and got moving we could be at school.

But I would definitely use it for shopping trips and visiting family.

Not practical for us. Fortunately, our school has a "walking bus" with a stop near the end of our street. Now THEY are an excellent idea.

I would definitely buy one if I had young kids - they are expensive.

There are a couple of mothers at my kids' school that have these, they ride them day in and day out - they have a cover on them.

I had both my kids in seats attached to my bike when they were little enough - magical. A good alternatively for smaller families.

but everyone else who is driving to school has equally valid reasons to yours..

what then?

Neverknowinglyundersold it's just a possible alternative for those who would rather not drive, but don't really see any other option.

Well they seem a nice idea but I'm not sure how they'd work in practice - I think you'd have to look at why people drive instead of walk/cycle/scoot. We normally walk unless the weather is really bad or I need to go somewhere directly after drop off/pick up.
I would assume (and yes I know what they say about people who assume) those who would be interested are those who already don't use cars whenever they can so it wouldn't make a significant difference.

I can't ride delta or tadpole trikes

I had a Bakfiets and loved it but there was no space on the road for it where we live

Saying that I am probably getting another one.

Everyone pointed, shouted or laughed at us in ours, you need a thick skin.

I like the look of it - BUT, we have to go down a 20% hill and then up a 25% hill to get anywhere, I do it on my own bike by myself but nearly die on the up - there's no way I could do that on one of those things!

I think of the crunch of articulated lorry onto plywood/ fibreglass child bin. And shudder. And I'm a cyclist, whose children also cycle.

A daft bint round our way rides one. I wince every time I see her wobble; she's clearly not a competent or confident cyclist, yet she takes her children onto the roads with only an orange box to protect them from twatty drivers.

Lemonsole, forgive my confusion but if you allow your own children to cycle, what is the difference?

I walk (1.5 mile round trip) every day, rain or shine. Three times a day, as DS2 does mornings at the nursery on the school site. I can't drive for medical reasons.

My 5yo walks/scoots. 3yo sometimes walks/scoots, sometimes in pram, and 1yo in pram. In wet weather they wear full waterproofs. In very cold weather they wear snowsuits. We don't have an alternative so we get on with it.

Tbh, it's great. Much healthier for kids, and for me. An awful lot of parents living same distance or closer than us drive every day, causing carnage. Even parents who work could walk home for 10-15 mins to get the car. (I work too).