A new data platform funded by the Department of Transport aims to reduce congestion during one of Britain’s busiest times of the day.
Since 2005, the number of car journeys on the school run has leapt by 23%. In tandem, fewer children are walking to school, leading to more severe traffic jams, increased air pollution and a fall in active lifestyles.
In major cities like London, more than one-quarter of the morning rush hour can be attributed to the school run, a situation which has become worse as state-funded bus services have declined. This leaves many with no option other than to drive children to campuses.
UK start up HomeRun believes it can begin to reverse these trends with its new STEP platform. The software uses artificial intelligence and a national data map to detail how children get to and from school to provide alternative options — including walking, cycling and public transport — in a bid to encourage a move away from private cars.
This is the first time such comprehensive insights into school journey patterns has been available, and it has been achieved without expensive surveys or relying on parent-pupil engagement. It is hoped this will prove particularly useful to campuses on main roads and in rural areas which have been unable to implement school streets schemes due to their location.
HomeRun has already been piloted in Essex, where travel for 210,000 pupils across 520 schools was modelled — a huge increase from the local authority’s previous capacity, when it was able to work closely with just 35 schools per year. Thanks to the new data, funding bids have been submitted for 30 new school streets, indicative of how significant the programme can be.
‘STEP is allowing us to pinpoint the most effective interventions for our schools and identify the geographic areas where they will have the greatest impact, saving us time, money, and effort,’ said Helen Akpabio, Essex County Council’s Active Travel Manager.
‘The equity implications are also profound. For the first time, all schools in Essex are assessed on a level playing field – no longer dependent on PTA enthusiasm or staff bandwidth,’ she continued. ‘Interventions can be focused where they are most needed, not where engagement is most responsive.’
HomeRun now wants the UK Government to improve support for local authorities with a data-led strategic approach to cutting school run congestion. This includes:
-
Developing a new national strategy for the school run.
-
Funding the adoption of national tools like HomeRun STEP, so every council can understand and target the school run using consistent, equitable data and reduce reliance on outdated, resource-heavy approaches.
-
Incentivising interventions based on measurable impact, not just activity – enabling councils to target schools and areas where modal shift is most achievable and beneficial.
-
Directing private and independent schools to participate, to reflect the outsized impact their business model is having on our local communities and the environment.
-
Supporting development of additional platforms like the STEP Parent Portal, giving families personalised, intelligent nudges to shift behaviour – without the need for school-by-school rollout.
‘If the trends we’ve seen in Essex were scaled nationally, we could ramp up active travel on the school run, take 650 million car trips off the road, slash peak-traffic emissions, and reshape communities around healthier, active, more sustainable transport,’ said Pooya Kamvari, HomeRun Founder and CEO. ‘That’s the power of using data and AI ethically, turning good intentions into real-world impact.’
‘We have been advocating for better data and transparency on how children travel to school, along with safer infrastructure. It’s really exciting to see new and innovative solutions like STEP come into this space. Children’s travel matters, and it deserves this focus,’ said Claire McDonald, Co-Founder of Solve the School Run.
Image: Solve the School Run
More Data Management:
National ID cards will support mass surveillance, not security
£50,000 for Birmingham City University green transport analysis
Government drought advice to delete emails, photos exposes biased tech agenda
Leave a Reply