Transport remains the highest carbon-emitting sector in the UK. So how can schools encourage a greener school run, as well as prioritise sustainable options for all school-related transport needs? Alice Ridley from the Campaign for Better Transport, explores the options
How we travel is key to both reducing harmful climate-changing carbon emissions and creating safer, cleaner neighbourhoods. Transport remains the highest carbon-emitting sector in the UK, responsible for the around a quarter of all emissions and is proving to be one of the most difficult to decarbonise. School travel is increasingly an area where individuals, local authorities and schools themselves are looking to make less-carbon intensive choices.
The ‘school run’
The school run makes up a large proportion of the traffic found on our roads. Across London, over a quarter (27 per cent) of morning rush hour trips are for school drop-offs, rising to almost half (43 per cent) in some parts of the capital, according to data from Transport for London. Clearly reducing the volume of these trips would have a significant impact on both traffic levels and on carbon emissions.
According to the latest National Travel Survey – the annual household survey of personal travel by residents of England travelling within Great Britain – 47 per cent of primary school age children walk to school and 45 per cent go by car. Forty-four per cent of children aged 11 to 16 walk to school, 28 per cent are driven and around 14 per cent travel by local bus. Secondary school age children also tend to cycle to school more than younger children, with three per cent of such trips made by bike.
Ironically, when asked as part of the same survey what would encourage those that drive to walk instead, people cited safer roads and less traffic.
Switching to active travel and public transport
Encouraging more parents and carers to use active travel and public transport on the school run is key to both reducing traffic levels and to reducing carbon emissions from transport. There are things that schools can do themselves, as well as things local authorities can do to help reduce emissions from home to school transport as well as from transport undertaken during the school day.
Promoting active travel in school
Often people aren’t aware just how much transport choices contribute to climate change. Many people switch to greener electricity or use a bag for life, but aren’t aware that a single car trip can undo weeks’ worth of recycling in terms of carbon emissions. That’s why educating parents, staff and pupils about the benefits of walking or cycling is key. By educating families and pupils about the environmental and health benefits of using public transport and active travel, people can be encouraged to make more sustainable transport choices.
Campaigns like Clean Air Day, Walk and Wheel to School Week and our own Better Transport Week (16 to 22 June 2025), help raise awareness of the impact of air pollution and spread the message about benefits of sustainable travel. They also provide recognition and encouragement for pupils and families who consistently walk, wheel or cycle. Such initiatives provide ready-made promotional materials and toolkits to help educate and provide a fun experience at the same time.
Another practical way to support walking or cycling to school more is for schools or parents to organise ‘walking or cycling buses’ where groups of children walk or cycle to school led by adult volunteers. Being surrounded by others on foot or bikes helps to increase children’s confidence and experience of crossing or travelling on roads safely. Charity Sustrans provides free training for volunteers looking to set a walking/cycling bus up.
Providing safe cycling routes is key to encouraging more pupils and staff to bike to school, so local authorities must invest in cycling infrastructure. Schools can provide secure cycle parking on site, but they should also lobby councils to improve the cycling infrastructure leading to school.
School Streets also help reduce the number cars outside schools, making them safer for those arriving on foot or by bike, but also discouraging people from making short car trips to and from school. A School Street is a road outside a school with a temporary restriction on motorised traffic at school drop-off and pick-up times. The restriction applies to school traffic and through traffic and the result is a safer, healthier and pleasanter environment for everyone. Local authorities have powers under the Road Traffic Regulation Act 1984 (s1 and s6-9) to regulate traffic and restrict access. The schemes have proved successful in London and now, thanks to a change to the Statutory Guidance, all local authorities can apply to the Department for Transport to enforce school streets.
To encourage people to use public transport, it can be helpful to provide information about local bus routes. This could be done in house by providing timetables in the school office or to new parents joining the school, or by partnering with the local authority or transport provider.
here will always be journeys that cannot be taken on foot or by public transport, for example, trips to sports matches. For these unavoidable car trips, schools can encourage families to offer lifts to friends and share rides where possible to utilise car seats and minimise unnecessary journeys.
Transport audits and policy changes
Conducting a carbon footprint audit of current transport methods is a good way to identify areas for improvement and then schools can create policies which prioritise sustainable options for all school-related transport needs. For daily school transport and trips, schools should use companies that provide zero-emission transport where possible. The Dwight School in London partnered with Zeelo to provide efficient, safe, and reliable home-to-school transport in 2021. The partnership has resulted in a reduction of around 12,000 car journeys, saving 26 tonnes of carbon dioxide.
Prioritising local trip destinations can also help minimise both travel distances and emissions. Visiting sustainability-focused destinations for school trips, such as nature reserves or eco-friendly sites, can help to reinforce learning, as can incorporating lessons about the environmental impact of transport into the trip itinerary.
Government policies
The Government has introduced a new Better Buses Bill which has measures in it that could help local authorities save money on statutory bus services, like home to school transport for children with special educational needs. The Bill will allow local authorities to franchise bus services, much like already happens in London, or set up municipal bus companies to deliver tendered services. Local authorities could further save money by integrating other statutory services, like patient transport and adult social services transport, or by combining with Demand Responsive Transport (DRT). DRT is public transport that has no fixed routes or schedules but aggregates individual trip requests into the most efficient possible shared journeys. According to a report released earlier this year by County Councils Network, 60 per cent of councils said their expenditure on SEN school transport was ‘unsustainable,’ and 34 per cent said it was ‘difficult.’ While many students eligible for SEN transport use the same buses as their fellow students, a significant proportion travel to school in taxis, private hire vehicles, or minibuses. Existing DRT services could be used in this instance more efficiently, cost effectively and safely.
To enable more children to travel by bus – one bus can replace up to 75 cars – we need more buses in general and a Minimum Service Level Guarantee to ensure all communities have at least a minimum level of bus services. We also want to see more consistent concessionary fares across the country to help pupils travel independently to and from school.
We all have a duty to help reduce emissions from transport and developing good travel habits from an early age will ensure future generations can enjoy a cleaner planet, more pleasant neighbourhoods and healthier lives.
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