First Hough Bike Bus wheely successful: Vancouver students, parents, volunteers ride to school to promote fitness, community

Source: Brianna Murschel, The Columbian, March 20, 2026, https://www.columbian.com/news/2026/mar/20/first-hough-bike-bus-wheely-successful/

Gus Hicks, 7, blue helmet, joins his father, Tony, right and other members of the Hough Bike Bus as they take off from Carter Park on Wednesday morning. The group of riders, which included adults and children, made it safely to their destination at Hough Elementary School. (Amanda Cowan/The Columbian) Photo gallery: https://www.columbian.com/photos/galleries/2026/03/18/hough-bike-bus/

A herd of elementary students, parents and volunteers biked through Vancouver’s Hough neighborhood and all the way to school Wednesday morning to kick off the first Hough Bike Bus.

The Hough Bike Bus started at Carter Park and ended at the elementary school. Students joined along the way depending on where they live along the route. Twelve students joined Wednesday’s ride and that number is expected to grow in future rides that will happen once a month, said Amy Carlson, Hough parent and Parent Teacher Student Association co-president.

A bike bus is a group of cyclists riding a route together and encourages a healthy commuting option.

“I think the main benefit of the bike bus is the strength in numbers,” said Maggie Derk, the city’s senior transportation planner. “It brings together community more. There’s lots of physical and mental wellness benefits.”

Carlson said the volunteers are critical. They ride ahead and block intersections for the kids and parents to pass through. Then, they travel ahead of the group to the next intersection.

“Even on the side streets, they are keeping those kids safe on the road at all times,” she said.

Studies show that kids who walk or bike to school perform better academically, said Jason Cromer, the founder of Cycle Vancouver. The group offers social outings and recreational rides, and has grown into dedicated advocacy for bike infrastructure.

Cromer said other benefits include developing navigational skills, minimizing injury or death from riding in a car, and cleaner air.

“It’s really nice for everybody, especially to see gardens and see birds, nature and to get that physical activity first thing in the morning,” Cromer said.

Derk and Laurel Priest, the city’s associate transportation planner, also run the Safe Routes to School Program, which provided signs that hung on bicycles reading, “Kids biking. Do not pass.” Priest said they plan to provide swag to students in future rides. They’re also in the process of creating yard signs to put along the route to raise awareness.

Derk added that if kids want to join the bike bus in the future and don’t know how to ride, Vancouver Public Schools offers the Let’s Go bicycle program. The multiweek curriculum teaches grades third through fifth how to ride a bike and the rules of the road.

Inspiration for the Hough Bike Bus drew from the large one in Portland. Kaylee Moreno — the founder of Local Links, an initiative to build community and get people outside — met with Cromer’s bicycle group and others. Several people told her that they wanted a bike bus similar to Portland.

Bike Bus PDX offers rides in 32 areas. The initiative has attracted thousands of kids, adults and even celebrities, such as Justin Timberlake, Benson Boone and Zara Larsson. Cromer said he and other Hough organizers met with the coach who runs Bike Bus PDX to get a better idea of how to implement it.

The Hough Bike Bus idea was pitched to the school and district in June. Carlson said the Hough principal reached out to her at the start of the school year to see if the PTSA would run the rides. They created an interest survey, received guidance from the city to form the safest route and figured out how many volunteers were needed.

“Hopefully, other community members and schools see this and want to start their own,” Derk said. Those interested can email VancouverMoves@cityofvancouver.us.

Moreno said there’s talk about starting a bike bus at Lincoln Elementary School.

“What’s nice about this is that there’s not a huge cost,” Carlson said. “Most people have bikes, and then there have been people that have donated helmets or bicycles.”

One of the volunteers is Carlson’s neighbor. She and her daughter, who attends Hough, rode in the Hough Bike Bus herd along with Cromer, Moreno, Derk and Priest on Wednesday morning. When the students arrived, they showed off their bikes to other students. The next ride is scheduled for April 15.

“I don’t think there’s anything that’s more joyous than bike riding in a group like this morning,” Priest said. “It was an integral part of my childhood growing up. And a lot of our kids these days don’t do it, and so we’re trying to create a space for that to happen.”