UDOT and Utah Jazz Bear Encourage Healthy Walking and Biking Habits for New School Year

The Utah Department of Transportation (UDOT) partnered with the Utah Jazz Bear to encourage students to develop the healthy habit of safely walking and biking to school at the beginning of the new school year.

To help kids create this habit, the Jazz Bear joined a group for their morning walk to school at Muir Elementary, where they joined other students in pledging to walk and bike safely every day.

The walking group was selected in a contest from hundreds across the state for using UDOT’s Walking School Bus app, and also won the opportunity to eat breakfast with the Jazz Bear before the group walk. The app allows parents to join or create walking groups to get kids to and from school instead of carpools.

UDOT was the first group to develop and launch a walking school bus app in 2014, and now has more than 350 active walking groups across the state. During the 2016-2017 school year, Utah parents and students using the app across Utah have accomplished the following:
· Reduced 224,000 car trips

· Walked 165,000 miles

· Eliminated 54 million grams of CO2 emissions

· Burned 16 million calories.


UDOT’s Walking School Bus app also alerts parents when students have arrived at school, allows parents to easily coordinate turns leading group walks and tracks the impact of walks in miles, car trips reduced and air pollution eliminated. This month, a new update to the app was launched, making it easier to use than ever.


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