Boss the school run
Why cycle and
walk to school?
Come on, it's much more fun!
On foot and by bike travel is much more fun for kids. They love being out in the open air, in any weather. Plus you get to spend more quality time with them - a few minutes to talk about your day or to spot things on routes. It's much more appealing than sitting in a car in crawling traffic.
If that isn't enough to persuade you, did you know that 75% of primary school children in Greater Manchester travel less than two kilometres to school? That's a 12 minute walk or a four minute bike ride. Walking, cycling or scooting is easily the least faff option at pick up and drop off time - you don't need to find somewhere to park your car, you can just cruise right up to the school gates. Plus, on foot and by bike is the most reliable way to travel as it will take you exactly the same time, every time. You'll feel less stressed and it's so much better for your physical and mental health.
And if that’s still not enough, think of how much cleaner the air will be with less cars on the road. Pre-pandemic, trips to education generated an estimated 730,000 trips by car per school day. Think of how much clearer the roads would be if more of those journeys were walked or cycled. And how much less hassle it will be for residents and teachers who have to deal with congestion on a daily basis.
Make on foot and by bike travel part of your routine for the school run. You'll be surprised at how good it will make everyone feel.
Supporting the school run
TfGM has a range of schemes to support students, parents and schools to embrace active travel.
School Streets
Transforming the school run with walking & cycling-friendly initiatives
Youth Travel Ambassadors
Empowering students with the skills and confidence to address transport issues affecting their school community
School Streets in Greater Manchester
Transforming the school run with walking & cycling-friendly initiatives
Greater Manchester is helping transform the school run, putting measures in place that promote cycling, scooting and walking and restricting access to motorised vehicles at school start and finish times.
The aim of the School Streets scheme is to help create a pleasant, child-friendly environment, whilst ensuring residents, local businesses and blue badge holders can still maintain access to the streets. As well as improving the air children breathe, it also aims to reduce traffic and parking pressures outside schools during term time, whilst encouraging more sustainable and active forms of travel to schools.
In most cases, a School Streets project consists of a traffic regulation order and related signage, making the road outside the school a pedestrian zone during drop off and pick up times. Each programme isn’t a one-size-fits-all approach though, with measures adapted to suit each area.
You can find out more about individual schemes by contacting the school. If you're a GM-based school interested in getting involved, please contact your local council to register your interest.
Hear from parents and teachers who have benefitted from School Streets
Listen to Gavin Shortall, Headteacher at St James' C of E school in Rusholme, talk about his experiences.
Cale Green Primary School in Stockport enjoys extremely high levels of walking and cycling. Find out how they do it.
Hear Mark's story about why he changed how he gets his kids to and from school and the difference it has made to them all.
Youth Travel Ambassador programme
Empowering students to make change
TfGM have partnered with Modeshift to support secondary schools in making active travel the number one choice for their pupils. The Youth Travel Ambassador (YTA) programme empowers the students themselves with the skills and confidence to address transport issues affecting their school community.
YTA teams of between 6-12 students, with support from a YTA coordinator and a member of school staff, research and develop campaigns with the focus on encouraging more active travel amongst their peers. Funding to deliver their campaign is secured at an interschool “Dragon’s Den” style pitching event where each school is awarded a grant of up to £500.
The programme for the 21/22 academic year is well underway, but to register your school’s interest in taking part for the 22/23 programme, please request an application form from active.travel@tfgm.com.
Own the Ride courses
Developing cycling confidence with high school students
BikeRight! have teamed up with Transport for Greater Manchester to deliver a unique cycling experience for secondary school student aimed at encouraging cycling to school, cycling for leisure and to increase their physical activity – all contributing to making Greater Manchester cleaner, greener and more liveable
The one-and-a-half-day course is aimed at key stage 3 students and will provide:
An introduction to cycling for travel and leisure
Made to Move and the Bee Network
National Standard Cycle Training
Route planning
Advanced cycle skills and group ride
Evaluation and cycling action plan
As well as focussing on the skills required to ride to and from school, Own the Ride will encourage students to think about the bigger picture of active and sustainable travel and the mindset for increased physical activity.
The courses are free to participating schools, funded by TfGM.
To participate in Own the Ride get in touch with the team at BikeRight! on 0161 230 7007 or email info@bikeright.co.uk
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