Accredited official statistics

NTS 2024: Travel to and from school

Published 27 August 2025

Main findings

• For children aged 5 to 10, 51% of trips to and from school were made by walking in 2024, 43% were by car and 2% by local bus.
• For children aged 5 to 10, most trips of less than a mile to and from school were made by walking (83%) and the car is used most often for longer trips to and from school, with 73% for trip length 1 to 2 miles, 83% for trip length 2 to under 5 miles and 69% for trip length 5 miles and over in 2024.
• For children aged 11 to 16, 37% of trips to and from school were made by walking, 30% by car and 18% by local bus.
• For children aged 11 to 16, the bus is used most often for longer trip lengths, with 42% of trips to and from school by bus for trip lengths 2 to under 5 miles and 58% for trip lengths 5 miles and over.

Trips to and from school by main mode

Chart 37: Percentage of trips to and from school by main mode and age: England, 2002 to 2024 (NTS0613)

Aged 5 to 10

For children aged 5 to 10:

• over half (51%) of trips to and from school were made by walking in 2024. Pre-pandemic (2019), the proportion of trips to and from school made by walking was at an all-time low of 46%, but this proportion has increased in recent years
• the proportion of car trips has reduced in recent years. In 2024, 43% of trips to and from school were made by car
• around 2% travelled to and from school by local bus in 2024

Aged 11 to 16

For children aged 11 to 16:

• the most common mode of travelling to and from school was walking (37%), followed by car (30%) in 2024
• around 18% of trips to and from school were made by local bus; before the pandemic in 2019 this proportion was 23%
• around 2% cycled to and from school in 2024, slightly more than younger children

Barriers and encouragements to walking to school

Parents with children who do not currently walk to school in 2023 were asked about their reasons for not walking to school more, and what would encourage them^{[footnote 1]}:

• top three reasons for child not walking to school more were its too far (39%), it takes too long (15%) and children are too young (10%)
• top three things that would encourage children to walk to school more often were none (54%), safer roads (for example with slower speeds, less traffic, more considerate driving) (22%) and more safer crossing paths (9%)

Chart 38: Percentage of trips to and from school by main mode, trip length and age: England, 2002 to 2024 (NTS0614)^{[footnote 2]}

Aged 5 to 10

For children aged 5 to 10:

• most trips of less than a mile to and from school were made by walking, with 83% walked in 2024. This proportion has increased in recent years
• the car is used most often for longer trips to and from school, with 73% for trip length 1 to 2 miles, 83% for trip length 2 to under 5 miles and 69% for trip length 5 miles and over in 2024
• the proportion of trips to and from school by bus increased in 2024 compared to the previous year for trip length 2 to under 5 miles to 12% and for trip length 5 miles and over to 20%

Aged 11 to 16

For children aged 11 to 16:

• the most common method of travelling to and from school was by walking for trip length under 1 mile (92%) and trip length 1 to under 2 miles (49%) in 2024
• motorised transport was used more often for longer school trips, with 45% by car and 42% by bus for trip length 2 to under 5 miles, and 31% by car and 58% by bus for trip length 5 miles and over in 2024
• around 4% of trips to and from school were made by cycling for trip length 1 to under 2 miles

Background information

The 2024 National Travel Survey (NTS) is the latest in a series of household surveys of personal travel by residents of England travelling within Great Britain, from data collected via interviews and a seven-day travel diary. The NTS is part of a continuous survey that began in 1988, following ad-hoc surveys from the 1960s, which enables analysis of patterns and trends.

Some key uses of the data include describing patterns, for example how different groups of people travel, monitoring trends in travel, including sustainable modes; assessing the potential equality impacts of different groups; and contributing to the evaluation of policies.

We always welcome feedback to help ensure that the survey meets the needs of users, and any feedback provided will help inform the future design and development of the survey. If you have any feedback, please email National Travel Survey statistics.

These official statistics were independently reviewed by the Office for Statistics Regulation in September 2018. They comply with the standards of trustworthiness, quality and value in the Code of Practice for Statistics and are labelled ‘Accredited Official Statistics’.

Further information is available, including:

• data tables
• notes and definitions
• guidance and quality information
• future developments

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Contact details

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1. This question is asked in the National Travel Survey every odd year. ↩

2. The relatively small number of trips to and from school by main mode, trip length and age in the sample may explain some of the variation observed over time, and therefore care should be taken when interpreting this data and comparing to other years. ↩