New data confirms school run transformed and children’s health improved due to Mayor of London’s policies

• From the expansion of School Streets and safer routes to school, to free Bikeability training and TfL’s Travel for Life programme, the Mayor’s policies are helping more children travel actively, safely and independently
• London now has almost 900 School Streets, up from none when the Mayor took office ten years ago
• New TfL data shows a 16 per cent decrease in the number of journeys to school made by car between 2015/16 and 2024/25, with car journeys to and from school now at a ten-year low
• In 2024/25, two-thirds (66 per cent) of primary school-aged children travelled to school using active travel
• More than 196,000 children have received free cycle training through TfL’s Bikeability programme over the past five years
• The Mayor remains committed to making it easier and safer for everyone to walk, wheel and cycle across London 

The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, has hailed a decade of change on London’s school run, as new TfL data shows there are now an average of 73,915 fewer car trips on each school day than when the Mayor took office ten years ago.

Across the capital, more children are walking, wheeling and cycling to school with the Mayor’s programme of measures making active travel an easier, safer and more attractive choice for families. 

In 2024/25, two-thirds (66 per cent) of primary school-aged children travelled to school using active travel, while the proportion travelling by car fell to its lowest level in a decade. Data shows a 16 per cent decrease in the number of journeys to school made by car between 2015/16 and 2024/25, falling from 461,000 to 387,000. [1]

One of the most visible changes has been the growth of School Streets – areas outside schools where motor traffic is restricted at drop-off and pick-up times. There are now more than 870 School Streets across London, compared with none when he became Mayor in 2016.

The benefits go beyond encouraging children to walk and cycle, with Breathe London monitoring data revealing School Streets can reduce nitrogen dioxide levels by up to 23 per cent during morning drop-off, helping children and families breathe cleaner air on the school run[2]. The Mayor’s Walking and Wheeling Action Plan, delivered with TfL, will build on this progress, with an ambition to expand School Streets so that 1,000 schools across the capital benefit. [3]

The Mayor is also supporting children to develop the skills and confidence to cycle. More than 90 per cent of London schools now have scooter and/or cycle parking, while around 196,688 children received cycle training through TfL’s Bikeability programme between 2021/22 and 2025/26. 

Meanwhile, almost half of London’s schools are now signed up to TfL’s Travel for Life programme, meaning more than half a million children are learning about and engaging with active travel, road safety and air quality. [4] A third of schools have achieved a six per cent mode shift away from car and delivered 48 activities over three years. TfL has also delivered training to nearly 100,000 10 to 11-year-olds, equipping them with the skills and confidence needed for independent travel.

Alongside active travel the Mayor of London’s Greener Schools programme has supported more than 40 schools across the city to invest in energy-saving measures such as solar panels and LED lights to boost school’s energy efficiency. The programme is collectively saving schools around 470 tonnes of carbon each year, which is the equivalent to removing more than 330 return flights between London and New York from the atmosphere. It is also generating a combined £510,000 in annual savings on school’s energy bills, which is money that can be reinvested back into children’s education.

Supporting active travel also adds to the air quality benefits of the Mayor’s Ultra Low Emission Zone (ULEZ), which a new study from Queen Mary University of London found has helped improve children’s lung growth and respiratory health[5]. Before the Mayor introduced ULEZ, toxic air was stunting the lung growth of London’s children and they had poorer lung function than children living outside the capital – but five years later, research shows that gap has almost closed. The proportion of children in London with clinically impaired lung function fell from 14 per cent to 9 per cent, with some of the biggest improvements in the children who needed them most. This independent research provides yet more evidence that ULEZ is working and it’s never too late to act against the devastating effects of air pollution. 

The Mayor’s Vision Zero approach is also making our roads safer – especially for some of the most vulnerable road users like children, pedestrians, cyclists, motorbikes and people using the bus. We've prevented more than 250 deaths since 2015 thanks to Vision Zero partners, with the Mayor’s recently updated Vision Zero Action Plan including 43 essential next steps, from safer speed limits and redesigned high streets to stronger enforcement and new technology [6]. The Plan commits to piloting zebra crossings on side roads by 2028, expand school streets to secondary schools, and 1000 new zebra or signalised pedestrian crossings by 2031 – clear targets we can measure on the path towards our Vision Zero goal. 

The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, said: “Whether it’s walking or wheeling, active travel is excellent for children’s physical and mental health, increasing their confidence and helping them focus in the classroom – and fewer cars on the road also means less air pollution in their lungs.

In the past ten years I’ve prioritised making it easier and safer for children to walk, cycle, scoot and wheel safely and independently, and these figures show my policies are working, with more young Londoners than ever reaping the benefits of active travel. 

But we’re not complacent. I remain committed to building on our progress and making it safer, easier and more enjoyable for even more Londoners to get around the capital on foot or by bike. This is vital not just for our health, but also for our environment and our children’s futures, as we continue building a greener and better London for everyone.”

Alex Goodship, TfL’s Head of Transport Policy, said: “We want every child in London to have the opportunity to travel to school safely, confidently and actively. Over the last decade, we have worked closely with boroughs, schools and communities to make walking, wheeling and cycling more attractive choices for families through initiatives such as School Streets, Bikeability training and our Travel for Life programme.

“The latest figures show encouraging progress, with more children travelling actively and fewer journeys being made by car. As we continue to deliver the Mayor’s Walking and Wheeling Action Plan, we will build on this success by creating safer streets, improving air quality and helping more young Londoners develop healthy travel habits that can last a lifetime.”

Andrew McCracken, Director of External Affairs at Asthma + Lung UK, said: “The drop in car journeys to and from schools is good news for little lungs. Fewer car journeys mean cleaner air and healthier kids.  

“London has made impressive progress on cleaning up dirty air, but the job isn’t done. Our own air quality monitoring project found that 95% of participating London schools reported rates of nitrogen dioxide - a harmful air pollutant - above World Health Organisation target levels.  

“There is much to learn from London’s success. Seventy years on from the first Clean Air Act, we need today’s politicians to show similar courage and implement a nationwide approach to tackling the hidden harms in the air we breathe.” 

Dr Rosamund Adoo-Kissi-Debrah, CBE said: "I am extremely glad to see awareness about reducing car journeys for the school run amongst London’s parents has increased over the past 10 years.  At my late daughter Ella’s inquest into her death from air pollution, the Coroner urged the Mayor of London to do more to tackle the invisible threat that is harming our children.  Measures to educate people have helped and the roll out of the ULEZ has undoubtedly saved lives, but that is just the tip of the iceberg.  We need to urgently improve our air quality to those standards set by the World Health Organisation (WHO) and we our politicians to be braver to protect our children, every child deserves the right to breathe clean, safe air."

Claire McDonald, co-founder, Solve The School Run, said: “This is great news for the children of London. Less driving to school means fewer cars on the road - giving the 66% of children who walk and cycle to school everyday more space, less danger, and cleaner air.

“As a London-wide parent network, we have seen how school streets have transformed our children’s journeys to school. We experience how fewer cars mean more movement, less stress and increased independence for our kids.

“At Solve The School Run, we think every child deserves the freedom and health benefits a school street brings.”

Jeremy Leach, 20’s Plenty Director & Community Champion, London, said: “It is good to see London tackling the scandalous decline of the past 50 years in the numbers of children walking, wheeling and cycling on their daily journey to school. The whole journey needs to feel safe and be safe and together policies such as School Streets, better air quality and 20mph speed limits, which now cover almost two-thirds of London’s streets and roads, are helping far more children be active on their trips to and from school.”

Jemima Hartshorn, Mums for Lungs, Founder and Director, said: “Sadiq's leadership in cleaning up the air and help kids walk and cycle is paying off! We are so glad that the Mayor's work with TfL and boroughs has significantly reduced driving on the school run. However, more still needs to be done to ensure that all kids have a safe and happy start and end to their day, as we all continue working to reduce driving across our beloved city so it can be safer and greener for everyone.”