Cycling campaigners in Scotland have warned that “being driven to school cannot become the norm” after a new poll revealed that the percentage of children travelling to and from school by car has reached record levels.
However, the percentage of children cycling to school is also at its highest ever level since the survey, carried out by the Walk Wheel Cycle Trust (formerly Sustrans), was established in 2008, with just under one in 20 Scottish children riding their bikes to school.
The Hands Up Scotland poll is an annual travel survey of almost 500,000 school pupils and nursery children across the country, with around 80 per cent of Scottish schools taking part.
Conducted in September 2025, this year’s poll found that walking remains the most popular travel mode for schoolchildren, with 38.8 per cent of journeys to school made on foot. However, that number is one per cent down on last year’s survey, while walking figures have dropped by four per cent in the last decade.
After falling last year, the proportion of children cycling to school has surged by 0.8 per cent to 4.7 per cent, the same figure recorded in 2023, a record high for cycling.
However, the poll also found that there is a significant drop-off in cycling’s popularity when children progress to secondary school, with just 1.3 per cent of older pupils travelling by bike compared to 7 per cent of their primary school counterparts.
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Scooting and skating remains at 2.9 per cent, which means that 46.4 per cent of Scottish children travel actively to school, a marginal drop compared to last year’s survey.
On the other hand, the percentage of children being driven to school has risen to 24 per cent, up 0.1 per cent on last year’s poll and up 1.7 per cent since 2016, the highest driving levels recorded since the survey began.
Parents and children who use the ‘park and stride’ method, which sees them walk the last part of the way to school, is also up to 10.2 per cent.
Bus travel has also increased from 16.6 to 17.2 per cent, while taxi use fell slightly by 0.2 per cent to 1.6 per cent of all schoolchildren.
“It’s encouraging to see cycling to school reach its highest level since the survey began, while active travel remains the most common way for pupils in Scotland to get to school,” Dr Lee Muir, the Scottish head of programmes at the Walk Wheel Cycle Trust, said in a statement coinciding with the release of this year’s survey.
“However, the decline in walking and the significant drop in cycling between primary and secondary school show there is still more to do to ensure every child can travel actively and safely to school.
“We know that getting regular physical activity is important for young people’s health, wellbeing, and development, and helps to build life-long confidence, independence and healthy habits.”
The news that driving continues to be on the top in the school run has also prompted other cycling advocates to urge local authorities to invest in active travel infrastructure which will enable children to safely cycle to school and encourage parents to leave the car at home.
“This news from the survey is very welcome but we are very concerned at the low rate of cycling amongst secondary pupils, and call for renewed emphasis on providing safe routes to secondary schools,” Ian Maxwell, of the Spokes campaign group, said.
Cycling Scotland spokesperson Mark McIntyre said: “Being driven to school cannot become the norm if we want young people to grow up healthy, independent, and be able to get around their own communities safely.
“More children cycling to school is good news and follows growing evidence that long-term investment in protected cycle lanes is helping thousands more people to travel by bike.
“Investment in Bikeability Scotland has seen more young people benefit, with 14 local authorities now providing on-road training in every primary school.”
5 thoughts on ““Being driven to school cannot become the norm”: Call for better bike routes as car use on school run reaches record high in Scotland (and cycling to class is also on the rise)”
“Being driven to school cannot become the norm”
Even in Scotland I was surprised to find that it wasn’t!
Numbers for England suggest that for kids under 10 it’s only just behind walking, and for older kids it’s a slightly more distant second but may be increasing. (Generally small changes though even as far back as 2002).
Figures from: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/national-travel-survey-2024/nts-2024-travel-to-and-from-school
Its never going to be that high because its simply dangerous. Infrastructure I assume is shit and I’m constantly amazed by the number of drivers who still treat me like shit when I clearly have 2 small children on the back of a cargo bike.
I assume they are the people that think its my fault when they driver dangerously around us because I shouldn’t have my kids on a bike on the road.
@mctrials23 Try organising a bike bus to the school. If a large number of parents and children cycle together it might make a difference.
Not surprised, I used to teach Bikeability at a primary school, and cycling was very popular there with the cycle storage often overflowing. That school (roll of ~ 200) was about 1.5 miles from the high school it was associated with (roll ~ 1300) and it was single figures riding there.
I think part of the problem is image-consciousness which seems to be pretty vicious at high school (even at primary, not as much) and the degree to which we insist on making kids dress up for riding in a way that labels them as members of an outgroup in stuff they’d not choose themselves.