From school buses to pedestrian-only streets: Rethinking the Way to School
Depending on where they live, children and teenagers may be able to walk to school in just a few minutes or spend about ten hours a week commuting. Thinking about these commutes is not just a matter of logistics and the environment, but also of equality.
Sylvain Wagnon, University of Montpellier
Every day, nearly 13 million students in France travel varying distances between their homes and their schools. Whether it takes a few minutes on foot or more than an hour by bus, this “invisible” time shapes their daily routines, affects their sleep, and influences their academic success.
Long overlooked, this aspect of daily mobility is now receiving renewed attention. In September 2025, the French Agency for Ecological Transition (Ademe) published the first large-scale national study on the mobility of children and adolescents, including their commutes to school: school transportation is now a matter of public health, equality, and the environment.
School Buses and Regional Inequalities
School transportation has a long history. It has been in existence since the 1960s, when the first departmental services were organized to serve remote middle and high schools. In 1963, there were approximately 4,000 school bus routes; ten years later, there were already more than 23,000, far exceeding simple population growth. This expansion was a response to the need for equal access to education in rural areas.
Since the 2017 reform, this responsibility has fallen to the regions. They organize transportation for more than 2 million students in non-urban areas, in addition to approximately 2 million students who use urban transit systems (buses, trams, and subways).
In total, nearly one-third of school-age children use public transportation every day to get to school. The current shortage of school bus drivers is undermining equal access to education, especially in rural areas that rely on this mode of transportation. It highlights a growing regional divide: while some students have access to regular transportation, others face longer or disrupted commutes.
What are the options for getting to school?
The 2025 ADEME study confirms the central role of cars in commutes between home and school: one-third of children use them every day, and that proportion rises to 54% in the overseas departments and regions (DROM).
The figures are similar to those already reported in a 2020 study: walking accounts for 25% of trips, ahead of urban public transportation (19%), school buses (18%), and bicycling (2%). While walking remains the dominant mode of transportation for short trips, its use declines as students get older.
However, these national averages mask significant local trends: in some cities, bicycle use is increasing significantly, driven by the creation of safe bike lanes. In addition, numerous initiatives are emerging to promote active commuting between home and school. The “pedibus”—supervised walking routes organized by parents, volunteers, or local governments—has been the subject of several studies. While it requires organization and regulation, it is said to yield tangible benefits for students’ health.
For its part, the “velobus”—groups of children on bicycles accompanied by adults—has been a real success, as has the “hippobus,” a horse-drawn carriage being tested in some municipalities. These initiatives reflect a growing desire on the part of local governments, as well as parents, to rethink the school commute.
The geography of school commutes reveals significant disparities. In some rural departments, a middle school student may spend up to two hours a day commuting, compared with just a few minutes for a student in the city center.
In addition tothese regional disparities, there are social disparities: the cost of public transportation passes can place a heavy burden on low-income families, despite regional or departmental assistance. Some local governments offer free transit, while others charge fares that vary based on income, which fuels a sense of injustice.
The ADEME study also highlights a decline in independence: the age at which children first travel alone is now 11.6 years, compared to 10.6 years for their parents. Parental safety concerns partly explain this decline, with a marked difference based on gender. Girls are considered more vulnerable: 40% of parents believe they are more at risk of assault, which delays their independence.
The Impact of Travel Time
While school transportation ensures access to education, it also takes a toll on daily life. In some areas, students may spend up to ten hours a week on a bus, reducing the time available for homework, leisure activities, or rest.
A student who spends more than an hour a day commuting sleeps, on average, half an hour less than classmates who live close to school. A survey of high school students revealed this correlation. School transportation is therefore not a neutral factor: it directly influences academic success and well-being.
A study of adolescents shows that long commutes not only disrupt sleep but also impair cognitive function, mental well-being, and academic performance.
"School Streets": Laboratories for Innovation
Inspired by the United Kingdom and Belgium, “school streets” have been gaining traction in France since 2019. The concept is simple: temporarily close the street in front of a school to vehicle traffic during school arrival and dismissal times. The observed benefits are numerous: a measurable decrease in air pollution, reduced noise, an improved sense of safety, and a rise in active transportation.
In Paris, there are more than 300 traffic-calmed streets as of the start of the 2025 school year, covering nearly half of the elementary schools. The movement is now spreading to major cities, as well as to medium-sized towns and villages, which see it as a practical tool for making the commute to school safer and more enjoyable, while also reducing air pollution. These measures also help foster children’s independence by allowing them to travel alone or with friends in a calmer, less stressful environment.
School streets provide an opportunity to test new ways of organizing public space, while encouraging children and families to collectively take ownership of the street. They are not merely a technical infrastructure project, but also a social and political reflection on the role we wish to give children in the city.
Turning the commute to school into a learning experience
These initiatives encourage us to rethink school transportation—not as time wasted, but as a learning opportunity. Walking or biking to school promotes physical health and independence. Creating safe environments transforms the walk to school into an opportunity for parents, adults, and children to socialize. In some schools, this is integrated into educational projects focused on sustainable mobility or learning about the local area.
School transportation is therefore much more than a technical system: it shapes the daily lives of millions of students, highlights regional disparities, and directly influences educational success. Long overlooked, this aspect deserves to be recognized and reimagined. After all, the educational experience is not limited to the classroom; it begins on the commute to school and extends into children’s daily lives.
Sylvain Wagnon, Full Professor of Education, School of Education, University of Montpellier
This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Readthe original article.