The peak time for school run traffic in Urban areas is 08:50 AM – the school run can account for 20% of cars on the road at this time – 1 in 5 of all cars on the road.
So a lot of this problem is down to getting YOU to school!
The government has realised that getting pupils to school is a big cause of congestion and wants to try and reduce the number of people coming to school by cars. Schools all over London, the country and indeed the world are looking at ways they can do this.
Click on the links below for some of the schemes that are being promoted:
Walking
It is often quicker and easier to walk to school than to drive, particularly over short distances of a mile or less.
As well as reducing pollution and congestion by removing a car from the road, walking is also a great form of exercise. Regular exercise like this can also increase your concentration at morning lessons so you also do better at school! Problems to do with being unfit such as heart disease and diabetes are also reduced.
Some parents are worried about what may happen to their children if they let them walk to school. Although the possibility of anything bad happening is very small, one way to make the journey safer is through organising lots of pupils who walk into a Walking Bus. This means that children are accompanied by adults and older children who look after them.
Another way of helping is to find somewhere with more space – away from the busy school gates – to drop the pupils off, and then they can walk from there. This is called ‘Park and Stride’ scheme.
Cycling
A bike is a great way of getting around town over longer distances that you wouldn’t want to walk. It is also clean, relatively cheap and often just as quick as driving!
If several people are cycling in from the same area they can join together in a Cycle Train. Older children and sometimes an adult volunteer can help the younger children stay safe
Research from the Netherlands shows that if the amount of cyclists is increased, drivers get more used to seeing them on the road and accidents actually reduce.
Lets not forget, like walking, its also great EXERCISE!
Car Sharing
How many people at your school?
How many people could be driving to school everyday?
How many people are going the same way?
How many people can you fit in a car?
Road space is a resource which is increasingly under pressure in the UK and in London in particular – if we don’t share that resource we won’t move anywhere!
If you live in the same area as someone else perhaps you could introduce your parents to each other and take it in turns to drive? You get to chat to your mate on the way in and reduce pollution!
Use Public Transport
How many pupils could you fit on a bus? A double decker bus holds about 70 people – so if everyone of these pupils were driven to school by their parents that would be an extra 70 cars on the road!
Using a bus or train reduces congestion and pollution – and remember the bus was going to make the journey anyway!
