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Break the cycle
Ride2School promise boon for health, safety

The Liberal Party’s commitment today to fund three years of the Bicycle Network Ride2School program in conjunction with the RACT’s road awareness program will give young Tasmanians the skills they need to stay safer while riding.

Bicycle Network Tasmania Advisor Alison Hetherington said the three-year funding commitment would mean the program will be able to be run across more schools in the state.

“Bicycle Network received two years of seed funding during the past term of government and in schools where we delivered Ride2School we saw walking and riding participation increase on average by about 60%.

“The ongoing funding commitment means we can now roll this successful program out to more Tasmanian schools and get more children moving.

“Some two-thirds of children do not get the 60 minutes of moderate physical activity they need to stay healthy. Encouraging children to ride and walk to school incorporates physical activity into daily routines.

“Recent research from the Heart Foundation found that more than half of parents surveyed thought it was important that children ride and walk to school but were worried about safety.

“Our Ride2School program works to reduce the barriers that children, parents and school communities face when it comes to increasing the numbers of students riding, walking, skating or scooting to school"

“Bicycle Network’s national Ride2School day is on Friday 23 March and this year we’ve also provided parents with their own information hub that helps overcome concerns and get more children riding to school: www.bicyclenetwork.com.au/rides-and-events/ride2school/parent-portal/

“The Liberals and Greens have now both committed to funding Ride2School and we look forward to similar support from the Labor Party.

“We also welcome recent announcements from the Liberal Party that boost its commitment to on-road cycling connections to $6 million statewide in matched funding with local councils,” Ms Hetherington said.