Encouraging walking and riding to and from school

A boy walking to school with a parent
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What we've learned

Transport for NSW heard from parents and carers in NSW how we can encourage them to walk or ride to and from school more often. 

To better understand community attitudes towards walking and riding to and from school, we:

  • consulted with stakeholders and industry experts, including local government and First Nations representatives
  • held Aboriginal engagement workshops in Bourke, Tamworth and Redfern to listen to First Nations people
  • held focus groups with NSW parents and carers, in collaboration with the Federation of Parents and Citizens Associations of NSW
  • conducted a 'Have Your Say' survey, which received more than 3000 responses
  • conducted quantitative market research with over 1000 parents and carers across NSW.

The results of this research are being used to inform the way we design and deliver educational programs and initiatives to encourage NSW parents, carers and school kids to walk and ride to and from school.

According to parents and carers

71%

said in an ideal world they would walk to/from school.

55%

said in an ideal world they would ride to/from school.

68%

would like to walk with their child/children more often 

80%

agree that walking to school allows for opportunity to slow down and connect with their kids.

45%

would like to ride a bike with their child/children to and from school more often. 

Barriers to walking or riding

37%
Bike riding courses

said they would walk and ride to school more if we provided bike riding courses for students at school.

42%
Better footpaths

said they would walk and ride to school more if we provided more and better footpaths.

35%
Pedestrian crossings

said they would walk and ride to school more if there were additional pedestrian crossings.

Find out more

You can read more about the responses to our study in the Get Kids Active Program Insights Report.

Download the 2024 report (PDF 2.77MB)

Spring holidays free bike skills courses

Transport for NSW has partnered with Department of Education and School Infrastructure NSW to deliver free bike skills courses at NSW schools as part of the Share Our Space program.

The courses aim to teach primary school aged children bike riding skills and road safety awareness.

The first round of free courses ran during the Spring 2024 school holiday break on school grounds at selected schools. 

More free courses will run in the Autumn holidays in 2025. Stay tuned to find out locations and times of the next courses in 2025.

Students riding home from school

The Walk and Ride Activity Booklet and other resources

These resources are available to help you encourage your kids to ride or walk to and from school, how to plan your journey, and how to stay safe.

The Walk and Ride Activity Booklet can help parents, carers and children discover the joys of walking and riding to and from school. Complete adventures, set goals and learn about safety together.

Download the Walk and Ride Activity Booklet (PDF 663.07KB)

Other ways we're helping school kids get active

Streets around schools for walking and riding

Amenities for walking and riding at schools

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