All go for Walking Bus as Kia welcomes brake on-board

Kia Motors has welcomed the increased awareness and commitment to the Walking Bus scheme, launched in the UK by Kia in December 2000, shown by Brake and ASDA with their “Record Breaking Walking Bus 2007” campaign launch.

Kia Motors (UK) Limited has worked tirelessly to heighten the awareness of road safety and the environment during the running of this scheme, forming partnerships with the British Heart Foundation, Countryside Agency, NSPCC, the RAC and Green Futures amongst others.

Those efforts have seen Walking Bus gain international coverage on education websites and from leading transport charities. To date, Kia has helped set-up over 250 Walking Bus routes across the UK and that means 8,000 children are now walking to school with 100,000 commuter miles saved every week.

Kia, and its dealers in each area, has formed partnerships with 210 schools, 53 local authorities, providing tangible materials, in the form of fluorescent jackets, for the adult volunteers who run these schemes and the children that take part.

The campaign is designed to encourage individual responsibility for driving patterns, and to promote integrated transport solutions that reduce dependence on motoring.

In collaboration with the Pedestrians Association, Kia created a system of Walking Bus routes giving parents the opportunity for their children to walk to school under adult supervision. The campaign is also aimed at being the first step in reversing the trend for children to be driven to school.

In 2000 Kia Motors (UK) Limited became the first motor company to acknowledge the need to change attitudes to car use by launching its environmental and social campaign, ‘Think Before You Drive’.

“The motoring industry must take responsibility not only for the products they sell but the lifestyle they promote,” said Kia Motors (UK) Managing Director, Paul Philpott. The issue of safety on our roads is still as pressing now as it was when we launched Walking Bus in the UK six years ago. “We at Kia are making every effort to increase awareness of the need to reduce road traffic and educate the public about how this can reduce road accidents and deaths. We at Kia fully support Brake and ASDA’s commitments to furthering this awareness,” he added.