EDWARDSVILLE, Ill. — Edwardsville School District 7 and Madison County Transit are partnering to provide students with two alternatives for transportation to school: SchoolPool and the Walking School Bus projects.

SchoolPool is a free program that helps parents and high school students to develop friends and partners in order to share rides to school. The school carpool concept encourages students and parents within neighborhoods and subdivisions to share rides in order to cut down on fuel costs and reduce gas emissions. Edwardsville School District 7 has registered for the program.

Parents will receive a secure passcode in the school's August parent letter. At that point, parents may go to RideFinders.org and log in to the SchoolPool system to create their individual profile. Passcodes will also be available at upcoming school registrations and at parent orientation nights.  

Walking School Bus is an alternative to driving children to school by creating neighborhood groups of adults who supervise children walking to school. Benefits of this project include increased exercise for students, fuel cost savings for parents, meeting families in the neighborhood and reduced school traffic congestion, officials said.

For more information about SchoolPool and the Walking School Bus projects, click here.