Tackling the School Run

Sustrans’ vision is a world in which people choose to travel in ways that benefit their health and the environment. An essential part of this is tackling the school run and developing a culture within schools that promotes cycling and walking as an alternative to the car.

Supporting Schools

Sustrans’ School Travel Team offers a wide range of support to schools and local communities to help encourage children, parents and teachers to choose cycling and walking as a viable alternative to driving.

The support ranges from grants to develop new walking and cycling routes to installing new bike storage or offering individual expert advice to schools.

Securing a Sustainable Future

Sustrans believes that encouraging young people to walk and cycle to school is a vital part of securing a sustainable and healthy future. It not only reduces the ‘school run’ congestion but also acts as a great way to introduce exercise in a fun and interesting way.

Today, ‘school run’ congestion accounts for around a fifth of all cars on the roads every morning and obesity levels in the UK continue to rise with 25% of 11 to 15 year olds being overweight or obese. Cycling or walking to school is one way that we can begin to tackle these issues. The benefits of walking and cycling are far-reaching for schools, pupils, parents, the local community, and for the environment as a whole.

Bike It

One of the most successful Sustrans projects in England and Wales that encourages children to choose two wheels instead of four for their journey to school has been the highly acclaimed Bike It project.

Currently, Sustrans employs 38 Bike It officers who work with over 400 schools and over 60,000 children and young people across the UK.

Sustrans’ own research shows that 47% of children would like to cycle to school but only 2% currently do – showing that there’s an enormous potential for increasing cycling levels across the UK.

Working with Pupils, Parents and Staff

‘Bike It’ aims to do just that by working directly with pupils, parents and staff to help them overcome whatever it is that is preventing them from cycling to school – by organising cycle training, helping to install new bike sheds, contributing to classroom work and providing information about safe routes to schools.

Participating schools across England have seen levels of cycling treble within a year– bucking the trend in declining numbers of children cycling to school.

Sustrans works with many partners to carry out this project, including Cycling England, the cycle industry through the Bike Hub, local councils, various Primary Care Trusts and the Big Lottery Fund.

Changing Behaviour

It is clear that Sustrans is successfully changing travel behaviour by giving young people the opportunity to travel in ways which are healthy, sustainable and fun.

If teachers in any school across the UK would like to find out more about getting their school cycling they can contact the School Travel Team at Sustrans on
0117 915 0100 or www.sustrans.org.uk