National Ride2School Day

National Ride2School Day aims to encourage and empower students to get physically active on their journey to school.

More than 350,000 students and families across Australia take part in the annual celebration, leaving the car at home and giving walking, wheeling or riding a go.

Active travel to school can have many benefits for the mental and physical wellbeing of children, as well as for the environment, economy and broader transport network.

However, over the past 40 years, the national rate of walking and bike riding to school has declined from 75 to 25 per cent, and in Perth the rate is as low as 20 per cent.

DoT is leading work to reverse this trend, championed through the Active Travel to School Roadmap, which aims to address barriers preventing active travel to school including:

• poor path accessibility;
• traffic around schools;
• safety;
• distance; and
• parent/carer time constraints.

DoT’s free Your Move Schools program is another key initiative that proactively helps schools to discover healthier, more active ways to get around.

“It’s important that we all play our part to instigate healthier travel habits,” DoT Manager Behaviour Change Helen Ginbey said.

“We know that fewer Australian children walk and bike ride to school than ever before, so initiatives like Your Move, along with the Active Travel to School Roadmap, are critical in our aim to curb that decline.

“Active travel to school really is a win-win for the whole family and community – kids arrive at school energised and ready to learn and traffic and parking pressures at school sites are reduced.

“Walking, wheeling or riding to school also supports children to be independent, resilient and build their confidence to navigate safely around their neighbourhood.

“I’d encourage any family looking to get more active in their day-to-day routine to give active travel to school a go, and what better time to start than National Ride2School Day!”