In recent blogs I have talked about National Bike Week and Walking Buses being used to persuade everyone to reduce using the car for that short journey to drop the kids off at school and here is some more information that might help influence your thinking on how you get the kids to school.

You might think that it is just a minor inconvenience using the car to get children to school on time, but the latest research suggests that its economic impact is an eye watering £470 million in petrol and diesel alone. In encouraging the use of bicycles and walking to school the average family would save £642 a year in reduced motoring costs, which amounts to a collective saving in the UK of around £2 billion.

The figures come from the Department of Transport’s own modeling techniques, and is part of a ‘drive’ to improve the opportunities for both cycling and walking so children can be encouraged to make their own way to school, or in supervised groups if the school bus idea is utilised. This has a dual benefit as not only will it reduce the congestion, pollution and accidents, it can also help to counter the growing problem of childhood obesity.

There are almost 11 million car journeys made to and from school each day in the UK, and it isn’t surprising that this makes up a quarter of the congestion at peak times of the day. Calculations from the research showed that a 5% reduction in car journeys to school would cut car trips by 59 million a year, reducing the distance driven by over 132 million miles a year and this would result in a saving of £27 million. Apply the same formulas to a 10% reduction and the figures show 118 million fewer car trips, 265 million fewer miles driven and an annual saving of £54.4. That would buy a lot of waterproof jackets and isn’t a figure to be sniffed at in anybody’s books.

Even the president of the AA was in favour adding that “where it is practically possible we would like to see more people walk and cycle to school. Talking about a 5% reduction is absolutely realistic, and in some places 10%, but you would have to look at the individual circumstances. But on the other side of the coin, the school run is an easy target and there are a number of parents who have kids in different schools because of the way government policy goes and they can’t get from one school to another without driving.” That is a valid point but even in cases like this alterations can be made, so lets all make an effort and get the kids out of the car as much as possible and getting them as active as possible.