the School Run
ROAD DANGER, air pollution & family stress
Ever wondered why so many parents today drive the school run despite almost universally hating it!? We summarise the issues...
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1. Why are so many kids driven to school nowadays?
Despite the roads being flooded with cars during the school run, most families walk, cycle or bus to school. In London just 28% of primary school children are driven and 10% of secondary school pupils. Nationwide these figures are higher - 45% and 28% respectively - but it’s still less than those who travel actively. So the majority of pupils are travelling sustainably to school.
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The school run isn't ALL traffic, but it can feel that way.
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Why? Just as important as the number of pupils being driven to school, is the time frame in which they are driven.
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2. Why are parents so lazy? Why can’t they just walk their kids to school?
Most children do travel actively to school, but car use has risen partly due to an increase in full-time working parents. Although breakfast and after-school clubs help accommodate working parents, there's been no additional support for the school run journey.
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Finding the time to take children to school can be a real challenge for parents, particularly since the majority of families now have two working parents. According to the 2021 census 74% of families have both parents working, with the most common arrangement that both parents work full-time.
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​3. I used to go to school by myself. Why are kids so mollycoddled today?
The journey to school is the most dangerous part of a child’s day. Drop off and pick up are the peak hours for children dying or being seriously injured on the road (between 8-9am, and 3-4pm). Increasing numbers of SUVs on our roads add to the danger.
Children that walk or cycle to school (the majority of pupils - see section 1) do so at the time when the roads are at their busiest. There is already a steady stream of commuter traffic, but then added to this is the surge of family car trips heading to schools. Both these layers of traffic combine to create congestion, pollution, road danger and chaos.
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4. The school run is just 20 minutes of congestion, twice a day. Why does it matter?
High levels of traffic and congestion on the school run expose children to five times more air pollution than at any other time. And it affects everyone in the area, whether you’re walking your dog or waiting for the bus. Our latest research showed air pollution increased by 50% during term time at a South East London junction.
Reducing school run car trips, a key contributor to peak time congestion, is therefore vital in the move towards clean air.
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5.0 I don’t have kids so the school run doesn’t bother me...
The school run affects us all. The increase in congestion not only spikes air pollution [see section 4] but it also delays public bus times. Our recent research found public buses took twice as long to complete their journeys during school term time due to the increased traffic on the roads.
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6. I used to walk two miles to school everyday - why can’t today’s kids do the same?
The statutory walking distance to school set by the government hasn't changed since 1944; two miles for children up to eight years old, and three miles for over eights. But we live in a very different world from 1944. Roads now are very different to roads then.
In 1950 there were 4 million licensed motor vehicles. Now there are over 40 million......
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7. What has age got to do with driving the school run?
The National Travel Survey tells us that primary school aged children are much more likely to be driven to school than secondary school pupils. 46% of 5-10 year olds are driven, compared to 28% of 11-16 year olds. In London these rates are 28% and 10% respectively.
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8. What has distance got to do with driving the school run?
The further pupils travel to school, the higher the driving rates. Nationally 75% of children at primary school are likely to walk distances under a mile. Over that and they are likely to be driven. Secondary school children are more likely to walk up to two miles. After that, they rely on cars and public transport.
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Department for Transport (DfT) data from the National Travel Survey below, illustrates the driving rates. This chart is from 2014, and is the clearest illustration of how pupil travel varies by mode over distance, though the latest 2023 data can be found here.
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9. What has school type got to do with driving the school run?
In the UK there are several different school types; faith, grammar, independent/private and state schools. They have different admission criteria and these affect how far away pupils live from school, which in turn affects how far they have to travel and school run driving rates.
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10. What has population density got to do with driving the school run?
The distance a pupil lives from their school is affected by the amount of people that live in their area. This factor affects catchment and non-catchment schools.
In areas where there is high population density, in central London for example, where people live in flats, apartment blocks, or houses with a small footprint, pupils will live closely clustered around their local catchment school.
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11. What does car ownership have to do with driving the school run?
Perhaps it is obvious, but if families don’t own a car they are less likely to use one to make school run trips.
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