An alliance of eight organisations has called on families to support their children to walk, cycle or use public transport as much as possible as they go back to school, and says further action is needed in communities to remove barriers to sustainable travel.

“As we look to the future, beyond Covid-19, we find ourselves at a critical juncture, where we have a chance to reimagine our transport priorities, with people’s health and wellbeing, communities and our environment at the forefront,” the group says in a joint statement.

It adds that the months since the pandemic hit have offered a glimpse into “how things can be if we reduce the dominance of the private car”.

Represented within the alliance are Bus Users, Campaign for Better Transport, Community Rail Network, Community Transport Association, Collaborative Mobility UK, Greener Journeys, Living Streets and Sustrans.

They urge Government and local authorities to give clear priority to active travel alongside public, shared and community transport – including for the school run – and call for a ramping up of efforts to provide additional space for walking and cycling.

Department for Education guidance urges schools to encourage parents, staff and pupils to walk or cycle if possible and states that public transport use by pupils – particularly in peak times – should be kept to an absolute minimum.

Community Transport Association chief executive Bill Freeman commented: “With schools opening up after five months, an opportunity exists to make long lasting and sustainable change in how children access home to school transport.”

Living Streets interim chief executive Jenni Wiggle said: “Not only will walking, cycling or scooting to school help children and their families stay fit and healthy, it will also prevent roads from becoming gridlocked as journey numbers increase.

“Local authorities should be doing all that is in their power to introduce measures such as School Streets, 20mph limits and behaviour change schemes, to make it easier for families to choose cleaner ways to travel.”

Sustrans chief executive Xavier Brice added: “As we begin to emerge from the Covid-19 crisis, it’s vital that as many pupils as possible are able to walk and cycle to school through the creation of dedicated routes, and removing cars from around the school gates. We are therefore calling on local authorities across the UK to work with schools and families to make active travel the safest and most appealing option for everyone.”

Transport for London is among authorities encouraging those making school journeys to walk, cycle or scoot to reduce pressure on public transport and the road network. It is also laying on additional dedicated school bus services, where Government guidance allows for a relaxation of social distancing requirements.

“We are doing everything we can to get children and young people back to school as well as supporting their teachers and other school staff and people returning to their workplaces after the summer break,” said TfL’s managing director of surface transport Gareth Powell.

Meanwhile the Welsh Government has supported calls for parents to leave their cars at home when accompanying children to school and urges other transport users to try and avoid non-essential journeys around the beginning and end of the school day.

The country’s Deputy Transport Minister Lee Waters said: “In many areas of Wales it may be most appropriate to walk or cycle to school. This has benefits for air quality and public health, and embeds active travel into our culture in the long term.”

(Photograph: Sustrans)