National Travel Survey suggests more parents are using cars for school run
Posted on in Business News , Cycles News , Outdoor News
The government's latest National Travel Survey reveals that more parents are using cars for school run despite growing concerns about the impact of air pollution on young people's health.
The survey, published last week, shows that the percentage of primary school children who walk or cycle in England fell from 53% to 51% in 2017.
It also revealed an overall increase the number of people using cars or vans instead of walking for journeys of less than two miles, which campaigners say has a major impact on air pollution and obesity.
Xavier Brice, Chief Executive of walking and cycling charity Sustrans, said: "It is disappointing to see the number of cycling trips have remained broadly static since 2002 and demonstrates that the government's Cycling and Walking Investment Strategy is currently failing in its ambition to double cycling trips by 2025. It is encouraging however, to see a small increase in the distance travelled by bike overall and in the number of trips and distance walked.
"These results show the critical need to invest in cycling and walking infrastructure in our towns and cities to enable more people to walk and cycle for everyday journeys. On a day when Public Health England has released its extraordinary findings that one in 25 year six pupils are now classified as seriously obese, we need to do more to enable more children to walk and cycle the school journey.
"Building better cycling and walking infrastructure, coupled with targeted engagement programmes, is one of the best ways to do this as it enables children to travel on foot or by bike in safety and with confidence. Schools also need to utilise their newly doubled PE and School Sports Premium to help more children have an active journey and get the physical activity they need to lead healthy lives."
A Department for Transport spokesperson said the government was committed to making walking more accessible "to everyone through our £1.2bn cycling and walking investment strategy."
They added: "We are taking a number of steps to boost the number of primary school children walking to school, including supporting Living Streets through their ‘walk to school' campaign, which aims to make this the natural choice for pupils."
Last year, the government set the first target around the school run, aiming to increase the proportion of primary school children walking to school to 55% by 2025, with funds from the "sugar tax" used to boost PE and sports funding and "active travel initiatives".