LOGAN SQUARE — James, Theo and their friends meet up every Friday at Palmer Square Park for a group bike ride to school.

The kids are part of the SJB Bike Bus, a parent-led bike caravan that rolls out from Palmer Square Park every Friday morning in spring and heads to St. John Berchmans School, 2511 W. Logan Blvd.

The bike bus, which is about to celebrate its first year, has grown steadily since beginning last May, welcoming children and parents who want a car-free option to commute to school. Matt McCabe, one of the bike bus dads, said the group is tapping into Logan Square’s bikeability.

“About 15 people came the first day, and we weren’t sure if anybody was gonna come,” McCabe said after last week’s ride. “To have 50-75 a year later feels great, but it wouldn’t happen without people coming. Everybody who rides makes the bike bus.”

Students and families ride bicycles in a bike bus through Logan Square to St. John Berchmans School on a Friday morning, April 24, 2026. Credit: Colin Boyle/Block Club Chicago

On a recent Friday, the bike bus had close to 60 participants, half of them children. Another ride earlier this month ended with close to 75 participants, so McCabe hopes to make it to 100 in the five rides left before school ends. With more cyclists joining in, the group has asked the city to install more bike racks near the school, he said.

The caravan has grabbed the attention of passersby — including drivers and dogs who stop to watch the bike bus travel along Logan Square’s signature boulevards.

With parents leading the way, acting as safety marshals and encouraging shy children to look ahead and avoid potholes, the bike bus is full of smiles, music, chants, waves and community.

“I’m in such a good mood after that,” said Ashley Kumar, whose two children participate in the bike bus. “I like it for the Fridays, because everyone sticks together, whereas when you’re doing it on normal days, you have to be more cautious with all the cars.”

Matt McCabe explains the ground rules for the bike bus before riding through Logan Square to St. John Berchmans School on a Friday morning, April 24, 2026. Credit: Colin Boyle/Block Club Chicago

“The bike bus is really fun. I like that a bunch of my friends are here and we can talk,” said James, 10, a fifth-grader at St. John Berchmans School. “It’s great there’s a different way to get to school than with a car.”

James, who is McCabe’s son, has been riding his bike for five years and has been with the bike bus since its inception. He said the initiative has made him feel safer cycling on the city streets.

“Hopefully, it encourages the streets to become safer — if the streets aren’t safe enough for kids to bike on them, they’re not safe enough yet,” McCabe said.

Students and families ride bicycles in a bike bus through Logan Square to St. John Berchmans School on a Friday morning, April 24, 2026. Credit: Colin Boyle/Block Club Chicago

While James and his father said the bike bus route feels safe — especially with the added bike lane visibility from the Logan Square traffic reconfiguration — they still have to use the sidewalk when turning onto Logan Boulevard from Kedzie Boulevard because there is no eastbound bike lane.

Protected bike lanes were never part of plans for the improved traffic circle, but McCabe hopes there can at least be an added bike lane path for that southern corner of the square.

McCabe and his wife bike with their three kids to and from school every day, but Friday is the only organized group ride effort.

“Part of this is, and we’ve seen more of it, is showing people that it’s possible,” he said. “In the ’60s, ’70s, a majority of kids walked and biked to school, and now it’s about 10 percent. And I think when you do this in a big group, it feels safe. … But then you realize we can do this on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday, too.”

Students and families ride bicycles in a bike bus through Logan Square to St. John Berchmans School on a Friday morning, April 24, 2026. Credit: Colin Boyle/Block Club Chicago

The SJB Bike Bus is part of a growing movement of bike buses in Chicago and worldwide. A Nettelhorst School bike bus in Lakeview has been going steady since 2023, riding even in the winter. Chicago Family Biking, a coalition of parents, organizers and educators, has counted eight active bike buses in the city.

There are over 100 bike buses in the United States, according to a map by Bike Bus World, a Portland-based organization that launched the initiative and helps chapters get started.

If you see the SJB Bike Bus cruising down Kedzie and Logan boulevards on a Friday, don’t forget to wave, make way and then join in, McCabe said. The bus departs promptly at 7:40 a.m. from Palmer Square Park by the hand statue.

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