Jump in numbers of children driven to school
Around 125,000 children in the greater Dublin area are being driven to school daily, a 6% jump over the last five years, it emerged today.
And about 40% of those kids live at most 2km from their schools, the Dublin Transportation Office (DTO) said.
A DTO survey of 147,000 pupils throughout counties Dublin, Meath, Wicklow and Kildare revealed a drop in the number of children walking to schools and using public transport since 2002.
The transport body, which is supporting the one small step campaign to reduce traffic congestion, is urging parents to consider alternatives to using the car.
John Henry, DTO Director, said: “Traffic flows around schools do contribute to the wider problems of congestion throughout the Greater Dublin area.
“Some car users consider that the distance to their local school or college is too far to walk and others cite road safety for children to be an issue.
“This is an understandable concern for many people.
“However where feasible it is of more benefit for students to walk with a parent of their friends to school, to cycle if old enough with the right safety gear, or to use public transport where possible,” he said.
The survey found that 40% of all pupils in the region now travel to school by car, rising to 50% for primary children.
The number of second-level kids using cars has risen 8% to 31%, while the number of children taking the bus has dropped from 23% in 2002 to 18% in 2006.
“Children who get fresh air and exercise before school tend to arrive in better form to start their day,” Mr Henry said.
“Under the Park and Stride scheme, many schools are already asking parents to park away from the school and to walk the last part of the journey with their children,” he said.
Meanwhile Fine Gael MEP Jim Higgins has called on the Government to use data showing where pupils live and the route they take to school to tackle urban congestion.
“If the Government used the available data showing the pupils’ place of residence and the location of their school then we could provide a better transport infrastructure for school children and reducing the traffic burden on our roads,” he said.
“Simply by mapping the place of residence we could provide better walkways and cycle tracks that would allow children to walk or cycle to their local schools.
“To do this you would map the homes of the pupils, those areas with the greatest concentration of pupils in the vicinity should be provided with direct cycle tracks to the schools.”
