A KM Charity Team Partnership award-winner is keen to further grow green travel schemes in Medway.

Cllr Phil Filmer of Medway Council has been involved with initiatives supporting school and environmental services since their inception in the area, and is calling for more to hop onboard a Walking Bus.

He said: “I’ve been involved with walking bus services for at least fifteen years now. Back at the beginning I spent much time explaining to people what a walking bus was! However, over the years we have greatly progressed and now operate some 40 buses in the Medway area.”

He added: “Like many regions, Medway suffers with heavy traffic congestion and parking shortages. Services provided by the KM Charity Team and KM Walk to School significantly help alleviate these problems, as well as providing children with a safer, healthier start to the school day.”

KM Walk to School provides schemes including Walk on Wednesday (WOW), Active Bug and KM Walking Bus which helped remove more than a quarter million vehicles from Kent, Medway and Bexley’s roads last academic year. The services also saw a reduction in harmful carbon dioxide emissions equivalent to 10 times the weight of Big Ben.

Schools are always welcome to get involved with the services which provide incentives to keep children engaged with their walking including stickers, trophies and prizes such as ice skating tickets. To join, visit www.kmwalktoschool.co.uk

Children involved with the initiatives benefit from a healthier lifestyle as well as gaining vital road safety skills, whilst schools enjoy safer gates and significantly lower levels of traffic congestion, plus reductions in air and noise pollution.

Simon Dolby, chief executive at the KM Charity Team which organises green travel schemes, said: “The development of Walking Bus services in Medway is fantastic, and something we look forward to further building armed with the support of Medway Council. We would like to congratulate them on their partnership award win and thank them for many years of service.”

The partnership operates green travel initiatives for schools including parent-led walking buses, Walk on Wednesday (WOW), Active Bug and Green Footsteps.