Yes, they liberate parents from the shackles of finding a parking space, kids getting travel sick and getting stuck in endless traffic (take a shortcut through the park!), but there is so much more to them besides...
They are perfect for a 1-2 mile journey with young kids. The exact same journey that, according to the National Travel Survey is driven 65% of the time, compared to 7% of journeys under a mile. And we think it is these journeys that are the most problematic, when it comes to the school run.
Let us explain...
School run car trips all happen in a condensed time frame which pushes roads past their capacity, creating congestion & road danger at exactly the same time that children are travelling along those same roads. It is estimated that around 27% of London peak time traffic is the school run.
Reducing the use of cars on the school run is a critical part of making London's streets safe & healthy.
So how do we solve it?
First, we need to understand the journeys.
Our analysis estimates that 5,000 primary pupils are driven to schools in Lambeth, where we are based.
This is 24% of primary pupils at schools in the borough.
It also shows us that the majority of these car trips are travelling distances of between 1-2 miles.
You can use our primary school travel dashboard here to find these numbers & school travel distances for your London borough.
It's obvious, longer school runs of 1+ mile are more challenging for young children to cycle or walk themselves. Over these distances, it becomes more likely that parts of the route may not feel safe enough for parents to feel their children can walk or cycle. Research consistently shows that road safety is the biggest barrier to children being able to walk or cycle more to school. Additionally, many families may have more than one child under the age of four who are not yet actually able to cycle themselves - (two years is the average age gap between siblings).
How to fit two young children on a bike...?
Enter family cargo bikes
The challenges families face with the school run are perfectly solved with family E-cargo bikes;
they come in many shapes & sizes and can carry between 2-4 children.
the children are carried in the bike, so longer distances and hills are solved.
parents are in control of the bike, so it feels safer than young children cycling on their own in areas with poor cycling infrastructure.
children can stay dry, most bikes have covers for the children section.
They are usually electric assist which enables a swift (and sweat-free) journey for parents, enabling them to continue easily onto work or an onward location.
E-bikes are growing in popularity in London, up 63% last year and are considered a critical solution to reducing family car use and creating a low carbon future.
They sound great! So why isn't everyone using them?
Whilst you may see increasing numbers of these family work-horses around, there are currently several barriers to owning and using family cargo bikes. We've listed the ones that come up the most often & what we are doing to help:
People haven't heard about them: That's why we organise our 'Cargo and Cakes' events - an opportunity for parents with cargo bikes to chat to parents thinking about buying cargo bikes, to encourage more people to use them. More about our events in this article for Brixton Buzz here.
They are expensive: Whilst cheaper than owning and maintaining a car, family E-bikes average in at around £3,000 which is out of range for many families. We are actively working working with bike manufacturers to encourage affordable family E-bikes to enter the market. Through the networks developed in our 'Cargos and Cakes' events, we are promoting and developing a second hand family E-bike market. Much like children's bikes, family E-bikes have a shelf life as young children grow up; a thriving second hand market will make these bikes more accessible for all.
There is nowhere for families to store them. There is a long way to go for bike parking in London generally, but safe and secure storage for family cargo bikes is non existent at present. You can pay to store your car on the kerbside - why can't we pay to store family cargo bikes there? You can (if you are lucky) pay to store a regular bike in a bike hangar - why can't we have hangars for family E-bikes? So many families say to us they would love one but they don't have anywhere to store them.
What can you do?
Email your councils to request family cargo bike storage. If you are in Lambeth you can contact cycleparking@lambth.gov.uk and rchowdhury@lambeth.gov.uk to request family cargo bike storage. If you are in another borough - email your sustainable travel cabinet member. Remember - it needn't be that you want to get a cargo bike yourself. If you want less school run traffic - ask your council to enable family cargo bike storage!
Come to our Cargos and Cakes events or host one near you! Come to one of our events to find out more [2025 schedule coming soon] or if you would like to host a Cargos and Cakes near you, we can support you. Email us hello@solvetheschoolrun.org.
Let's solve it
Cargo bikes have a crucial role to play in reducing school run car trips. And if we can reduce those we free up the roads at peak time. That means buses running smoothly, children walking and cycling safely, cleaner air while you're out walking your dog...!
We are all affected by school run congestion - let's solve it!