The school run lowers congestion

The popular belief that without the school run traffic would always run as freely as in the holidays is false, and far from adding to congestion, the school run reduces it in cities according to the Environmental Transport Association (ETA).

A spokesperson for the ETA said: “If every child started walking to school then by next year there would be no lull in traffic levels over the summer holidays – the extra road space would quickly be filled by business and commuter traffic.”

Although in a perverse way the school run appears to restrict congestion, the ETA is not campaigning for more people to drive their kids to school; children commuting to school by car have as much (or as little) right to travel in this way as anyone else, but there are many environmental, health and social reasons why children are better off walking or cycling.