Young Scots from poorer families should be given cash to help them buy bikes so they can take part in the country's cycling boom, the Scottish Greens have said.
Encouraging more children to cycle would also help them travel to school safely when classes resume in August, MSP John Finnie said.
The Greens are proposing funds be given to the approximately 120,000 pupils who already qualify for school uniform grants to help them purchase bikes and safety equipment such as helmets.
Money for road building projects that have been halted during the Covid-19 crisis could be used the cover the costs, the party suggested.
The plea came ahead of a statement by transport secretary Michael Matheson to Holyrood on Tuesday, in which he is expected to set out how public transport can continue to operate safely as lockdown restrictions begin to be eased.
Mr Finnie said urgent action is needed to make cycling and walking safe and convenient for youngsters when schools return or else "we risk going straight from lockdown to gridlock".
"Scottish Greens are calling on the Scottish Government to put support in place now to allow schools to ensure that every child who lives within three miles of their school is able to cycle or walk there safely," he said.
"This must mean access to safe, segregated routes, ensuring that children and any accompanying adults are able to socially distance on their way to and from school."
He added: "Cycling to school is convenient, enjoyable and healthy. It should be an option for every child regardless of a family's income."
Mr Finnie said work needs to take place to ensure children can still get the bus to school when they return to classrooms.
"Of course, thousands of kids depend the bus to get to school," he said.
"To accommodate social distancing, schools will need buses to be at a fraction of current capacity.
"Staggering start times could reduce the overall size of the bus fleet needed but realistically more buses will be required and this would be an opportunity to help the beleaguered coach industry, which has been starved of its usual trade."
A Transport Scotland spokesman said that a transition plan was expected to be published in Holyrood on Tuesday.
He added: "We know that capacity on our public transport system will remain limited as a result of the need to maintain physical distancing and guidance for public transport users and operators is a key element of the plan to keep public transport safe."
