The challenge
Unsafe streets and long commutes were pushing children to change or skip school.
The case
In parts of Bogotá, unsafe streets and long commutes were pushing families to change schools or keep children home. After winning Bloomberg Philanthropies' 2016 Mayors Challenge, the city launched Ciempiés ('centipede') in 2018. Trained guides lead daily walking caravans of children aged 5 to 14 along set routes, with road-safety games on the way, and the program has expanded to dozens of routes. Early research using school records found a 6.8 percentage point reduction in school switching, a decline of over 40%. It costs about $285 per child per year, between 24% and 51% less than school bus alternatives.
Why it worked
A simple, low-cost service tackled a real barrier to staying in school: getting there safely. Rigorous results on learning and dropout are still preliminary.
Sources
- Bloomberg Cities: Ciempiés, Bogotá (program summary).
- Universidad de los Andes (2025): research on school commuting and student retention.
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