Professor Peter Jones, Ruth BradshawTransport Studies Group, University of Westminster
Cost: 41,000
Published: June 2000
Download the summary Report (PDF 998K).
Background
Using data from the National Travel Survey, a small in-depth household survey, and a national public attitude survey, the study has examined the 'school run' and what might be done to enable parents to reduce their car use. It investigates existing travel patterns and the contribution the 'school run' makes to traffic congestion; it asks why more parents are choosing to take their children to/from school by car, and what barriers need to be overcome before parents feel confident to let their children travel in other ways.
The study has found that:
- nationally, the 'school run' is not as big a contributor to traffic congestion as is commonly assumed;
- improved bus services have the greatest potential for reducing car mileage for the 'school run', but this also requires safer access to bus stops, and improved facilities at school;
- there are unanswered questions concerning whether a shift from car to bus would reduce or increase child road accidents, taking into account the journey from door-to-door.
Why investigate the 'school run'?
The 'school run' is often highlighted in the press as a major contributor to morning peak period traffic congestion, as evidenced by the contrast in traffic levels between school terms and school holidays. Some experts have also associated increasing car use with a deterioration in children's physical fitness and independence, and government is calling for a reduction in car use for the school journey.
Most parents who drive their children to school do so in the belief that it is in the best interests of their child, and feel that there is no adequate alternative. At the same time, many parents would like to be relieved of the daily burden of the 'school run'. In a recent survey, half the parents who currently drive their children to school agreed that they should be encouraged not to do so. Many now find it a chore in their busy daily schedule.
What are the facts about car use?
Since the mid-eighties, the number of children driven to/from school has increased by around 60 per cent, and there is considerable scope for this to grow in the future. Despite this growth, the car is still a minority mode: overall, less than a third of children usually go to school by car and a half still walk. However, for primary school children in car owning households, as many children now go to school by car as on foot. Except in the immediate vicinity of schools, the 'school run' is not a major contributor to peak traffic congestion, to the extent often supposed:
- because of the relatively short distances involved, in the morning peak period only 8 per cent of car mileage is to take children to school - and in 40 per cent of these cases children are dropped off by parents en route to their workplace or another activity;
- comparing morning peak periods in June and August, car traffic declines by around a quarter during school holidays, but the school run contributes less than a third to this drop: reductions in commuting and business trips, due to parents being on holiday, account for over two-thirds.
In terms of air pollution, the 'school run' is more significant. It is responsible for about 20 per cent of the morning peak 'cold starts' and accounts for around 60 per cent of the drop in morning peak car trips in August - though again, some of these trips are linked to other activities that may continue to be made by car.
However, if we are concerned about negative impacts on children, then the 'school run' may not be the primary issue. Two-thirds of children's journeys over a year are for non-education purposes, where:
- many more children are killed (88 per cent) or seriously injured (80 per cent) in the course of these non-school journeys;
- car dependence is much higher, so that the amount of physical exercise experienced as part of travelling to/from these other activities is much less.
What scope is there for relieving parents of the need to make the 'school run'?
Parents identified a complex set of reasons for taking their children to/from school by car, including: the time factor, the need to supervise pre-school children, child safety concerns, carrying school books and sports kit, children attending different schools, and lack of acceptable alternatives. However, the majority of chauffeuring parents felt that alternative modes could be made sufficiently attractive to enable them to stop taking their child(ren) to/from school by car.
The most popular potential alternative with parents was improved bus services, followed by cycling and then walking.
A market analysis of school travel confirmed that the most effective alternative mode on which to target additional effort is public transport - which has been relatively neglected in school travel initiatives to date. Assuming that up to half the existing school car trips would transfer to an improved alternative mode, and apportioning this shift among competing modes in different distance bands, we find that public transport could provide a substantial market for:
- up to 40 per cent of the car mileage driven to/from school;
- up to 25-30 per cent of existing school escort trips by car.
However, it is not possible to tell, from the existing data, whether a switch from car to bus would reduce or increase child accidents, taking into account the journey from door-to-door.
What needs to be done to make public transport an attractive option?
Any significant shift from car to public transport will require the introduction of customer-oriented public transport services, that are well publicised, affordable, take children where they need to go, at the right time, and provide very reliable services (with contingency plans, if problems arise).
However, much more than this is needed if many of the current barriers to public transport use are to be removed. For example, parents will need to be sure their children are able to reach bus stops safely, without concerns about traffic or strangers; and schools will need to provide secure locker facilities, first day absence reporting, and before/after school supervision.
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