By ANNA USHER

In a suburb of just 8.7 square kilometres, built around a single village strip and packed with eight schools, two Mosman mums are launching a “walking bus” that will escort local kids to school for $5 per trip.

The service is called walked by. It launches as a pilot in Term 3, and is already hiring local walkers to run the routes.

Behind it are residents Julia Edgar and Sophie Krynauw.

Julia is a Queenwood parent and Mosman Council volunteer who has led marketing for Amazon, HSBC and T-Mobile. Sophie spent nearly two decades in financial services.

The “walking bus” is a simple idea: A trained adult collects a group of children from fixed points along a route and walks them to school, then home again in the afternoon.

Our local geography is made for it. Five schools cluster around the village: Mosman High at 769 Military Road, Mosman Public on Belmont Road, Sacred Heart on Cardinal Street, Mosman Prep on Shadforth Street and Queenwood + Blessed Sacrament both on Queen Street.

Beauty Point and Middle Harbour public schools sit further north towards The Spit.

Julia and Sophie say most local students already live within walking distance of their schools. The problem is time, not distance.

“Children who live five or ten minutes from their school arrive by car, because the logistics of the morning just don’t give families another option,” Julia said. “Walking has become something that happens when you have time – and nobody has time.”

Here is how it works

Trained walkers, called Route Managers, pick up children at designated points and walk them in groups. Every walker holds a Working With Children Check and first aid training.

Routes are capped at 1.5km. Families choose the days that suit, from one to five a week, in the morning, the afternoon, or both.

It costs $5 per walk, with separate runs to and from school. Parents book through the website and get a text when the route is done.

The pitch is not only about time. Julia and Sophie estimate the Mosman pilot could strip 16 tonnes of carbon from local roads, easing the morning crawl along Military Road.
They also point to research linking walking to school with sharper focus, lower stress, and better road sense in children.

“We’re not just solving a logistics problem,” Julia said. “We’re trying to help children build a healthy relationship with movement, with nature and with their community. That’s something you can’t get from the back seat of a car.”

The pilot starts with the school run. If it works, Julia and Sophie plan to expand into after-school sport, care and activities.

For now, they need two things: families to sign up, and locals willing to walk.

Families can register for the Term 3 pilot at walkedby.com.au.

Anyone keen to become a paid Route Manager can apply through the jobs page on the same site.