The YouGov poll of over a thousand parents found that two thirds cite congested roads as a reason for their dislike of the school run, with a third drawing attention to the issue of footway parking.

Nearly three quarters of parents agreed that local authorities should take steps to make it easier for families to walk and cycle to school. Results of the survey coincide with Bike to School Week and follow figures from campaign group the Environmental Defense Fund that show road congestion in outer London in early September was worse than the same time last year.

Seven in 10 parents surveyed agreed that local authorities should take steps to make it easier for families to walk and cycle to school, with four in 10 saying that building more segregated cycle routes would help them cycle to school more.

Sustrans urges local authorities to implement low traffic neighbourhoods as well as ‘school streets’ which close roads near school gates to motor traffic. The charity also calls on the Government to enact Part Six of the Road Traffic Management Act as soon as possible to give local authorities outside London the powers to enforce school streets, as part of active travel measures introduced because of the pandemic.

Chief executive Xavier Brice said: “These figures highlighting why parents currently dislike the school run clearly show that more needs to be done by local authorities to help make walking and cycling the easiest and most appealing options for families travelling to school.

“The journey to school shouldn’t have to be a stressful or negative part of the day, and yet it seems that way for a lot of families across the country.”
He added that there is a real risk of people becoming locked into car dependency, causing gridlock and adding to dangerous levels of pollution unless councils provide viable alternatives by making walking and cycling safer for everyday journeys, including the school run.

The survey also found that nearly a quarter of parents thought cycle training would help their child cycle to school. Commenting on the survey, The Bikeability Trust's executive director Emily Cherry said: “We are encouraged that 23% of parents see cycle training as one of the main ways to encourage their child to start cycling to school more often. We know that high quality training improves the confidence of children and parents alike to cycle.”

On Monday the Government announced that ‘Doctor Bike’ cycle repair workshops are to start being rolled out in England to help ensure children’s bikes are roadworthy and suitable for the school run, along with funding to extend a walk to school outreach programme.

Cycling & Walking Minister Chris Heaton-Harris said: “We must encourage young people to see cycling and walking as normal as getting the bus or train.”

(Photograph: Jonathan Bewley)