Children wearing helmets and backpacks gathered with their parents in Montclair, New Jersey, for a group bicycle ride to two local elementary schools. Volunteers in orange safety vests made sure everyone assembled in a neighborhood shopping area was ready before the riders set off on their 5-mile “bike bus” route.

Every few blocks, more adults and kids on bikes joined in. Eventually, the group grew to over 350 people. Older students chatted with friends, while younger ones focused on pedaling. Cars along the way stopped to let the long line of cyclists pass. Pupils and parents peeled off toward the first school before the remainder reached the group's final stop.

It’s a familiar scene in Montclair. For the past three years, what began as a handful of parents hoping to encourage their kids to bike to school has grown into a weekly ritual for both the township of about 40,000 residents and many of its families.

“It was so fun,” second grader Gigi Drucker, 7, said upon arriving at Nishuane Elementary School. “The best way to get to school is by bike because it gives you more exercise. It’s healthier for the Earth,” she added.

But traveling to school on two wheels isn’t just for fun, according to organizer Jessica Tillyer, whose children are 6 and 8 years old. She believes that biking together each week helps promote healthy habits for the children and strengthens the sense of community among parents.

The bike bus movement isn’t new. Hundreds of them exist throughout the U.S. and Europe, as well as in Australia, Brazil, India, Indonesia, and Israel, according to Bike Bus World, a nonprofit organization that promotes and provides information about bike buses.

Co-founder Sam Balto, who established a bike bus in Portland, Oregon, more than three years ago, said interest has grown so much that he offers free coaching calls to help others launch their own. He estimates there are more than 400 routes worldwide, and the number continues to grow.

“Children and families are craving community and physical activity and being outdoors,” Balto said.

This article was provided by The Associated Press.