Fact Check: Mexican Bus Drivers Reportedly Train on Exercise Bikes to Experience Cyclists' Fear. Here's What to Know

Aleksandra Wrona
·4 min read
Reddit u/Vahan_Calyd
Reddit u/Vahan_Calyd

Claim:

Video shows Mexican bus drivers training on exercise bikes to experience cyclists' fear.

Rating:

Rating: True
Rating: True

On May 12, 2024, a video went viral on Reddit, allegedly showing Mexican bus drivers on exercise bikes, supposedly to experience the fear cyclists feel. "This should be part of all drivers training honestly," one user commented.

In San Luis Potosí, Mexico, bus drivers were put on exercise bikes while a bus drove alongside to experience the fear cyclists feel.
by u/Vahan_Calyd in interesting

"Company put drivers on bicycle to know how bad it is to pass by scraping cyclists," a 2023 Reddit post with the same video read. The claim was also spread on various social media platforms, such as 9GAG, Instagram and YouTube.

The claim is true. The official X account of the city council of San Luis Potosí, Mexico, explained the video showed a workshop that seeks to improve coexistence of cyclists and bus drivers.

The viral video was shared by the X profile of the Gobierno Municipal SLP (municipal government of San Luis Potosí) in June 2021.

The post read (we translated it from Spanish):

Municipal Government through the Directorate of Mobility and Public Space San Luis continues with the teaching of the "#Bicycleschool for Public Transportation Operators".

Second session with Transportes San José (routes 06 and 38).

In August 2021, the account shared a similar video featuring taxi drivers on exercise bikes.

The post read (we translated it from Spanish):

The #Bicycleschool for Public Transport Operators is a workshop that seeks to improve coexistence with cyclists. 🚖 🚴 🚘

Through this program, more than 140 #bus and #taxi operators have been trained.

In October 2023, the secretary of mobility for the government of Mexico City shared a similar post saying that "this year, 9,234 operators were trained on the importance of safeguarding the integrity of cyclists."

The secretary's website informed readers that the "Biciescuela" — "Bike School" — program was aimed at improving road safety (we translated the article from Spanish):

Biciescuela CDMX offers awareness workshops for transport operators:

The Awareness Workshop for Transport Operators aims to contribute to the strengthening of road safety by reducing deaths and serious injuries due to traffic incidents in Mexico City.

This workshop promotes road safety by raising awareness and training public and private transportation operators due to the number of incidents that occur between these actors and bicycle users. Through the knowledge of the Traffic Regulations and road coexistence between pedestrians, cyclists and drivers of motorized vehicles, operators are sensitized, in addition to expanding their knowledge regarding the needs, requirements, capabilities and dangers involved in other forms of moving around the city by non-motorized modes of transport, such as walking and cycling.

The World Health Organization published an article titled "Mexico's groundbreaking National Law of Mobility and Road Safety" explaining that a crucial constitutional amendment introduced in Mexico in 2020 recognized "mobility under the conditions of safety, accessibility, efficiency, sustainability, quality, inclusion and equality" as a universal right.

Sources:

Biciescuelas CDMX. 12 Feb. 2022, https://web.archive.org/web/20220212014210/https://www.semovi.cdmx.gob.mx/tramites-y-servicios/mi-bici/biciescuelas-cdmx.

Mexico's Groundbreaking National Law of Mobility and Road Safety. https://www.who.int/about/accountability/results/who-results-report-2020-mtr/country-story/2021/mexico. Accessed 13 May 2024.