Australian children aren’t walking to school – but there’s a plan to change that

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Active transport to and from school

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Macquarie University associate professor of health and education Dean Dudley said overprotective parents were reluctant to let kids walk more than about 500 metres to school.

Safety fears about public transport during the pandemic also led more parents to drive kids to and from school.

“The decline in active transport has nothing to do with kids being lazier now than in the past,” he said.

 

Footpaths too close to a road, especially if there is heavy traffic, also discouraged parents from letting children walk to school, Dudley said. “Urban design is a really important factor to instil confidence in parents to allow active transport.”

Dudley also pointed to initiatives such as the walking bus – where kids walk to school along a set route and are chaperoned by adults.