‹Drive carefully! Children back at school!› That is the message spread in August when thousands of children set off to school, many for the very first time. Children and road users alike must pay attention along school routes. The Swiss Council for Accident Prevention, in conjunction with the authorities and the police, runs a poster campaign to mark the start of the new school year.
Parents are responsible for how their children get to school, whether on foot, by bike or by bus. The communes only take measures if the journey to school is considered too long or dangerous to be expected of a child. The local school authority judges whether or not a journey to school is reasonable and covers the cost of any necessary measures.
In many towns in Switzerland, parents have set up Pedibus groups. A group of children walk to school in the company of an adult. The Pedibus stops at the ‹Pedibus stop› to take the children to school, and brings them home again at the end of the day just like a bus. The Pedibus is for children who are not yet old enough or able to make their way to school on their own.