Ken Jervis Kia’s Call to Arms in Support of Active Lifestyle Initiative

Driving can be fun. But let's face it - there's nothing great about traffic jams. At 9am nearly 20% of cars are doing 'the school run'. But the Walking Bus can change this - one step at a time.

With children across Stoke-on-Trent returning to school, Ken Jervis Kia is issuing a rallying cry to local schools and parents to ditch their cars and enjoy the walk to school in the sanctuary of a ‘Walking Bus’.

Walking is great. It helps strengthen children's bones and develop their muscles - including the heart. And more people walking means fewer cars on the road, which helps to lower congestion and put the fun back into driving.

A Walking Bus is just like a normal bus - but on foot. It takes the same route to school every day and picks the kids up along the way. To create a Walking Bus, parents take turns to walk a group of children to and from their school. A ‘driver’ picks up children en route to school and leads the group, while a ‘conductor’ takes position at the rear of the ‘bus’ to ensure any stragglers are not left behind and the walking bus reaches school safely and on time.

Kia Motors UK so far has a number of Walking Buses operating around the country and is ready to support the growth of the initiative in Stoke-on-Trent.

David Norwood, Dealer Principal, Ken Jervis Kia, commented: “It is important that we keep the momentum going that the scheme has generated so far. Supporting active lifestyles amongst children is of paramount importance and getting a Walking Bus up and running, is very straightforward. Road congestion during the school run is a problem in the Stoke area and could be easily reduced if more children were able to walk to school.”

If you or your local school would like to start a Walking Bus, please contact Ken Jervis Kia on 01782 202782 or Sue Mulcaster at Kia on 01932 832079, who will be able to provide you with everything you need to get you started.