New plan set to make school runs 'greener, safer, healthier'

Local education authorities are being encouraged to develop greener, safer and healthier ways for children to travel to school through a new funding initiative announced today.

Transport Secretary Alistair Mr Darling has earmarked £10 million to develop the Links to Schools programme which will create hundreds of safe walking and cycling routes to schools.

Mr Darling said: "As well as being fun, cycling improves health, reduces school-gate congestion and pollution and provides our children with a sense of independence. But we need to persuade more children, and their parents, that they can cycle to school safely."

More than 230 schools will directly benefit via the funding to 100 local authorities. The grant is to be made to Sustrans, the sustainable transport charity, which has built the 8,000-mile National Cycle Network, and which will oversee the building of new links from the Network to schools around England.

Education Secretary Mr Clarke also confirmed that a School Transport Bill – which brings the first changes to school transport legislation in over 60 years – will be introduced to Parliament today to enable up to 20 local education authorities to introduce new schemes to tackle the congestion caused by the traditional 'school run', with up to £200,000 funding.

Twice as many children are driven to school now in comparison with 20 years ago - around 40% of primary pupils and 20% of secondary pupils – despite most of these journeys only two miles in length.

Mr Clarke said: "Our proposals would encourage local education authorities to come up with 21st century solutions to make walking, cycling and bus travel safe, green, healthy options for more schools and their pupils, while allowing authorities who are content with their current arrangements to retain them."

(gmcg/mb)