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There are so many reasons to encourage children to walk, scoot and ride to school. Our friends at Better Streets have written about six of them in this great article! Active transport for school trips is so good for mental and physical health. It reduces congestion and emissions. Families save time and money. Healthy transport habits can be established early, so children can ride on into adulthood and benefit from a lifetime of physical activity, better health and lower transport costs.

But above all, it is fun. Children love getting around by walking, scooting and riding. Especially with their friends.

But why do so few children travel actively to school in 2024?

In the 1980s, 75% of kids walked or rode to school. But after four decades of car-centric urban planning, that proportion has plummeted to 25%. Our governments stopped designing streets for people, and prioritised travel for large, fast cars instead.

This has had disgraceful public health consequences:

  • Australian Teens rank 140 out of 146 of the least physically active nations on the planet. (The Lancet)
  • 25% of Australian children and 67% of adults are overweight or obese (Diabetes Australia).
  • Traffic violence is the leading cause of death among children and teens. (Sydney Morning Herald)
  • Traffic pollution causes 11000 deaths and 66,000 childhood asthma cases every year (Sydney Morning Herald).

The future generation needs safe and healthy streets

Bicycle NSW will work very closely with NSW Government to drive programmes forward.

Register now for the Bicycle NSW Ride To School Program so we can support your school community as our school active transport projects ramp up in 2024.

Continuous, shaded and generous footpaths, regular raised or signalised crossings and low vehicle speeds are essential ingredients of a ‘child-friendly’ city. 

When the infrastructure is right, kids jump on their bikes! At Bourke Street Public School in Redfern, 80% of kids walk or ride to school. (Image: Simon Wood)

Unfortunately, the pace of change remains ridiculously slow. Better Streets advocate have calculated that it will take 320 years to achieve healthy, equitable streets with the current 0.2% budget allocation to active transport. This is 100 times below the 20% recommended by the UN. A paradigm shift is urgently needed in NSW to meet the active transport goals.

Resources

A concept for a separated cycleway connecting the southern end of the Harbour Bridge cycleway with Kent Street
Campaign Ramps Up on the South Side of the Bridge
The northern access ramp for the Sydney Harbour Bridge cycleway is finally on site! It has taken four decades of Read more
Zetland Avenue and Geddes Avenue connect people and places in the new town centre
Green Square Signals Fail Active Transport
Zetland Avenue and Geddes Avenue are new tree-lined boulevards in Green Square, the much-praised regeneration area 3km south of Sydney’s city centre. Read more
ACTIVE TRAVEL WINS AT WILLOUGHBY PUBLIC SCHOOL
Active Travel Wins at Willoughby Public School
Bicycle NSW volunteer Nicolle Kuppens has found bike riding in Sydney a challenge after many years of everyday cycling in Read more
MAKING LOCAL STREETS SAFE FOR BIKES
Making Local Streets Safe For Bikes
Protected cycleways that separate bike riders from both vehicles and pedestrians are gold standard facilities. Great examples of these cycleways Read more
Nicolle and her daughter in Amersfoort
Travel to school: a Dutch experience
Nicolle Kuppens is an urban planner who lives on Sydney’s lower north shore and loves riding bikes. Two years ago, Read more
Fund active transport for our children's sake
Fund Active Transport For Our Children's Sake
Bicycle NSW and Better Streets have collaborated to push the NSW Labor Government to fund transformational change to our transport Read more
The Time to Invest in Walking and Cycling is NOW
80 years’ investment in streets for cars, not people, is having a profound impact on our health But after four Read more
Road rage death 5 years on
Making Walking and Cycling a Priority
Parents across NSW are calling for safer roads around schools to enable active transport. Making walking and cycling a priority Read more
Rail trails encourage independent kids
Rail Trails Encourage Independent Kids
And resilient communities We have written about how rail trails support regional communities. They do so by connecting people and Read more
Young lady in crowd looking at her mobile phone
Speed Is The Culprit, Not Phone Use By Pedestrians
Blaming pedestrian behaviour for crashes ignores evidence and decades of bad planning. When it comes to collisions between vulnerable road Read more
Slowing Down to Stay Safe
If you see a bicycle rider going too fast on a shared path, tell them to slow down! This excellent Read more
Ride to School Day 25% off Bicycle NSW Membership
National Ride to School Day
National Ride to School Day is this Friday 22 March and is a good reminder of some of the important Read more