Tag: Hands Up survey

Pupils being driven to school at the highest recorded levels

Edinburgh: Cycling at highest recorded levels (was 4.5% in 2010, is 7.0% in 2019). Has more than doubled since the first survey in 2008, in which it was 3.3%

The percentage of pupils travelling to school by car reached its highest ever recorded level in 2019, according to new data released by Sustrans Scotland.

More than a quarter of pupils said they used private motorised transport to get to school each day, with 23.8% reporting they arrived by car – the highest level since the survey began in 2008.

And, despite remaining the most frequently reported mode of travel to school in Scotland, active travel fell to its lowest recorded level over the same period. Of the 47.8% of pupils who reported travelling actively to school, 41.0% walked, 4.1% cycled and 2.7% scootered or skated.

Cycling to school is at its highest recorded level, whereas walking to school is at its lowest recorded level.

The findings form part of the annual Hands Up Scotland Survey, an official statistic in Scotland. Funded by Transport Scotland, the survey was carried out in September 2019 by Sustrans Scotland in partnership with all 32 Scottish local authorities. 78.9% of all state schools in Scotland (excluding nurseries) took part in this year’s survey.

Bus use also continues to decline from 18.2% in 2010 to the lowest recorded level of 16.0% in 2019, whilst the percentage of pupils travelling to school by park and stride (driven part of the way and walk the rest) increased to a high of 10.2%.

The findings also reveal a difference in active travel between independent and state schools. 44.5% of pupils from independent schools are driven to school whereas 23.6% of state school pupils are driven.

Commenting on the findings Sustrans Scotland’s National Director John Lauder said: “We want to thank all the schools who took part in the 2019 Hands Up Scotland Survey.

“The report is an incredibly useful indicator of trends in how children travel to school. Helping schools, local authorities and partners identify what needs to be improved to help more children travel actively every day.

“What we have seen during lockdown, with fewer cars on the road, is that people will change their behaviour if they feel their streets are safer.

“Travel patterns will have inevitably changed as a result of lockdown. It is important we make it easier and safer for children, parents and teachers to travel in an active and sustainable way.

“Our streets cannot afford more congestion and air pollution and our children cannot afford more inactivity after months of homeschooling. Let’s bring back something better.

“We need to make it easier and safer for children, parents and teachers to travel in an active and sustainable way, once schools re-open in August.

“Only then will we be able to ensure that walking, cycling and scooting is seen as a viable alternative to the private car.”

Pre-virus Walk to School rates plummet in Scotland

Living Streets Scotland, part of the UK charity for everyday walking, is calling for street improvements around schools ahead of them reopening to avoid gridlock and promote a green recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic.   

It comes after new data reveals record lows in the number of children walking to school pre-lockdown.

The Hands Up survey – published today but conducted in September 2019 – shows that just 41 per cent of primary school aged children were walking to school before the coronavirus (Covid-19) outbreak – the LOWEST recorded level – whilst pupils being driven to school was at its HIGHEST recorded level since the survey began at 23.8 per cent.

Living Streets, the UK walking charity behind the biggest walk to school campaign, wants more local authorities to use available funding to implement measures to make walking to school more attractive, including 20mph limits, safer crossings and School Streets – which see cars banned from outside school gates at peak drop off and pick up times.

Stuart Hay, Director of Living Streets Scotland, said:  “These results are incredibly disappointing and shows that there is a lot of work to be done to make walking to school a viable option for families across Scotland. 

“We know from our work with schools across Scotland that families are put off walking to school by traffic, road danger and air pollution. By removing cars, we remove these barriers.

“When pupils start to return, it’s crucial that our roads aren’t gridlocked and our schools surrounded by dirty air. And by giving space to people – not cars – we can ensure families can physically distance at pick up and drop off.

“School Streets have been successfully implemented by many Scottish local authorities and we want to see others using the funding made available during the pandemic to follow their lead. We need to come out of this crisis stronger than before and we won’t do that by replacing it with crises around inactivity, air pollution and road danger.”

Living Streets Scotland runs WOW – the year-round walk to school challenge in 22 Scottish local authorities. On average, schools which take part in WOW see a 23 per cent increase in the number of children walking to school and a 30 per cent decrease in the number of cars driving up to the school gates.

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