Australia’s children are travelling further, moving less, and relying more heavily on cars than ever before, a new survey examining school commuting shows. 

Led by Associate Professor Jennifer Kent from the School of Architecture, Design and Planning, The Australian School Travel Survey 2025 draws on responses from 4,968 families and travel data for 7,880 children.

Most Australian children now start the day in a car, with private vehicles accounting for 61percent of school trips nationwide. Walking and cycling make up just 21 percent of trips, while public transport (10percent) and dedicated school buses (8percent) play relatively minor roles.

“Car dependence is no longer just a transport issue, it is reshaping childhood, straining families, and deepening inequities in access to education and activities,” said Associate Professor Kent.

“For most Australian families, the school day now starts in the car. Even when children live close to school, driving has become the default, not the exception.

“Distance matters, but our data shows it isn’t the whole story. Nearly four in ten children who live within a kilometre of school are still driven, which points to missed opportunities to support safe, active travel.

"We are losing opportunities for children to be active, independent and connected to their communities. Our survey points to a need to invest in travel systems supporting children, not cars.

Car dependence increases sharply with distance. Two-thirds of children living more than three kilometres from school travel by car. Public transport and school buses become significant only for longer journeys, reinforcing the central role of school location in shaping family travel patterns.

The survey also highlights clear differences between school sectors. Public school students who attend a school outside their local catchment travel much further than other students, with most living more than three kilometres from school. As a result, they are also the most car-dependent group and are far more likely to be driven than students who attend their local public school.

“Children’s access to independence, activities and even school itself increasingly depends on where families can afford to live and which schools they can access. Our data shows car dependence and long travel times are becoming a marker of inequality in Australian childhoods,” said Associate Professor Kent.

The survey also highlights that children’s transport needs don’t end when the school bell rings. 

“School travel doesn’t end at 3pm. With most children attending extracurricular activities and more than 80 per cent of those trips made by car, parents are effectively running transport networks every day of the week,” explained Dr Kent.

The survey shows a growing time, cost, and logistical burden on families, as well as broader implications for traffic congestion, children’s health, urban planning, and equity of access to education and activities.

“This trajectory is not inevitable - it’s a policy choice. Germany shows what’s possible: slower street speeds and high local school attendance sees seven in ten children walking or cycling. In Australia, higher speed zones and out-of-catchment enrolments leave just two in ten doing the same,” said Associate Professor Kent.

“That means investing in safe routes to school, designing neighbourhoods that bring families closer to education, reducing reliance on out‑of‑catchment enrolments, funding our public education system better and giving children real independence through better infrastructure and safer streets.

"Schools can play a pivotal role by supporting active travel programs, revising travel policies, and working with families to remove barriers to walking and cycling.

“Australia cannot afford to allow school travel to dictate the structure, and strain, of family life.”