Bike Buses to School
A bike bus is an organized bike ride through neighborhoods to a school. Starting on Bike to School Day 2025 (May 7) and continuing every Friday through the end of the school year, a group of parents and other adult volunteers chaperoned up to 75 children to the Bresnahan School. The riders and scooters ranged in age from pre-kindergarten to third grade. The 2025 bike buses were Newburyport’s first, and were outstanding successes.
The bike buses to the Bresnahan returned in September 2025 and continued every Friday through October. They were joined by bike buses to the Molin/Nock Schools and River Valley Charter School from the South End, and to Molin/Nock from the West End. Three bike buses returned for spring 2026: the North End and South End buses to the elementary schools, and the West End bus to the Nolin/Mock.
The same three bike buses are back for fall 2026: South End to Bresnahan and River Valley, North End to Bresnahan, and West End to Molin/Nock. We started September with a fourth bike bus, from the South End to the Molin and Nock schools. Unfortunately we did not get enough students to continue it for the fall, but hope that it will be back in the spring!
As they have from the very beginning, the Newburyport Police Department are enthusiastically assisting the riders.
Follow @nbpt.bikebus on Instagram to keep up to date on special events, schedule changes and cancellations.
Click on the images below to see larger versions of the maps.
The South End elementary school bike bus starts at Perkins Playground and follows the Middle Way to the Immaculate Conception and Bresnahan schools. At Cushing Park a group branches off toward the River Valley Charter School. The full route from Perkins to the Bres is about 3 miles and takes just about a half hour to ride.
The North End bike bus route starts at the corner of Ferry Rd and Briggs Ave and goes across Moseley Ave and through the Atkinson Common pines on the way to the Bres. Only 1.6 miles in length, this route takes about 15 minutes to get to school.
The West End bike bus to Molin and Nock starts at the corner of Virginia Lane and Melvin Court and picks up riders in the Turkey Hill Road and Doe Run/Squires Glen neighborhoods. This route is 3.4 miles long and takes about 30 minutes to get to school.
As the map below shows, many neighborhoods in Newburyport are within a few blocks of a bike bus.
