Sustainable Modes of Travel to School Strategy consultation

Consultation closed: Wednesday 31 December 2025
Consultation opened: Wednesday 19 November 2025

To achieve the aim of every child travelling sustainably to school where they can, it is important to understand and remove the barriers that they face to choosing sustainable travel.

Location of schools – Central Bedfordshire is a mix of small market towns and rural areas; this can make it challenging to get to and from school using sustainable travel.

Parental choice of school – around a third of children in Central Bedfordshire do not attend their catchment non-specialist school. For such pupils, the home to school distance is frequently too far to walk with the strong likelihood that pupils will be driven.

Ability to travel independently – examples of pupils under the age of 9 travelling unaccompanied to school are rare.

Time, distance, and linked trips – school journeys have become longer due to more children attending non-catchment schools, parents combining school drop-offs with work, and the rise of before- and after-school clubs.

Safety concerns – parents and carers have become increasingly reluctant to allow older children to walk alone or to cycle. Many have limited time to accompany children on the walk to school.

Leaving age – the increase in school leaving age from 16 to 18 meant that a greater number of pupils travel to school on a day-to-day basis. Some sixth-formers have cars and drive themselves, those that do add to parking pressures.

In our most recent Householder Travel Survey (June 2024), distance and road safety concerns were cited by respondents as the main barriers to walking or cycling to school.

Residents living in rural areas are more likely to say it is too far and are twice as likely to be concerned about road safety.