An Oregon PE teacher’s TikTok videos of his “bike bus” — an organized way for students to safely ride their bikes to school together — continue to bring joy and attract millions of likes.
In one of Sam Balto’s latest bike bus videos, TikTok users can hear “A Thousand Miles” singer Vanessa Carlton’s “Coach Balto” wearing the seat belt while taking students to their elementary school in Portland.
The concept replaces the school bus for children, and adults, including Balto and the students’ parents, guide the young cyclists to their destination.
“I started a bike bus at my school on Earth Day 2022,” Balto, 38, told PEOPLE. “It was a way to get my students active, reduce student car trips to school, and have fun on bikes.”
Balto’s videos highlight how much fun a bike bus can be for kids and parents.
“Be the #joy you want to see in the world,” he captioned a video of students pedaling while nodding their heads to Usher’s “Yeah!”
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Picture of a child riding a bicycle.
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His @coachbalto account on TikTok has garnered over 7 million likes and 211,000 followers thanks to his bike coach videos.
“I’m glad how many people are starting bike buses in their communities after seeing the videos,” Balto captioned a video of Taylor Swift performing the lyrics, “Nice to meet you, where have you been? I could show you amazing things.”
As the bill grew, so did the number of bike bus participants.
“The numbers vary between 50 and 150 students, and lots of parents join in,” he told PEOPLE. “The more people cycling together the safer it becomes, there’s a wonderful safety in numbers.”
Balto added that his son, who started kindergarten this school year, recently started riding the bicycle bus: “It’s a great joy to see him riding with his classmates and the community,” he said.
Categories: Trends
Source: HIS Education