Sustainable Modes of Travel Strategy 2021 to 2025

The Home to School Travel and Transport Statutory guidance for Local Authorities (July 2014) requires LAs to make transport arrangements for eligible children, and also to promote sustainable travel and transport.

This strategy outlines how the Home to School Transport service promotes sustainable travel and transport in line with Brighton & Hove City Council’s mission to promote and encourage safer, healthier and more environmentally friendly modes of travel for children and young people to and from school and college.

Passenger safety and the need for all children and young people to be supported to safely access education is paramount.

The Brighton & Hove City Council Plan 2020 to 2023 (corporate plan) set out a vision for a fairer city and a sustainable future.

One of the key priorities was to create a ‘sustainable city’. It was aiming to address the climate crisis and make radical changes to the transport network to help us gain carbon neutral status by 2030.

Get more information on our Climate and biodiversity emergency page.

The Local Transport Plan 4 is currently in operation and LTP5 is under consultation. LTP4/5 set out priorities, projects and programmes that need to be progressed in the future to help people move around the city more safely, sustainably and easily.

Get more information on our Sustainable transport around the city page.

The LCWIP, which is under development, will aim to improve the walking and cycling network and promote active travel. This can help increase walking and cycling, and enhance the skills needed for safe and independent travel.

Our priorities are to:

• encourage families to choose safer, more active and sustainable travel options as an alternative to driving
• reduce road traffic, ease congestion and reduce carbon emissions, especially on routes to schools
• contribute towards the immediate and long-term health and well-being of children and young people
• provide guidance and support to schools which, through updating their School Travel Plan (STP), are actively promoting walking and cycling to school
• allocate road safety resources, (for example cycle, scooter and child pedestrian training) to those schools which, through their STP, have highlighted a specific need.

Get more information on our School Travel page.

The Home to School Transport Services transports children and young people to over 70 educational settings, inside and outside the city.

Teachers frequently report that children who cycle, walk and scoot to school are more alert, relaxed and ready to start the day than those who are driven. It also helps pupils to meet their recommended hour of daily physical activity, reduces congestion at the school gates and improves air quality.

How pupils aged 4 to 16 travelled to school in 2019

Taxi - 1%

School bus - 1%

Public transport - 11%

Car (including park and stride) - 35%

Cycling - 2%

Walking and scooting -50%

There are a number of campaigns, schemes and initiatives to encourage more walking, biking and scooting to school and to help educate children in road safety skills.

These include:

• Walk to School campaign
• Park and Stride
• Child safety training and road safety resources
• School Crossing Patrol service
• School travel ambassadors
• Sustrans Bike It project
• Bikeability cycle training
• Scooter training
• ‘Walking Bus’
• Car sharing
• Anti-social parking and parking enforcement
• School Keep Clear & School Streets in Brighton & Hove
• Safer Routes to School

Get more information about these initiatives on our How do you travel to school? page.

A School Travel Plan (STP) sets out how a school will promote safer, active and sustainable travel to school, with the main emphasis on reducing the number of children being driven to and from school.

An effective school travel plan includes a package of measures to:

• reduce the number of vehicles on the journey to school
• Improve safety on the journey to school, and
• encourage more active and sustainable travel choices

Get more information on our School Travel Plans page.

We have a duty to provide free transport between home and school for some children. Entitlement is based on certain criteria including the distance to their appropriate school, low income, attendance at a special school, and some medical reasons.

This is determined by a Transport Panel, which includes representation from local charity Amaze. Home to School Transport policies and strategies are co-produced with the Parent Carers’ Council (PaCC).

Where assistance is agreed, consideration is then given to how the pupil will travel to school. The offer of assistance will take account of the needs of the child, the distance from home to school, the suitability and availability of public transport, existing passenger runs to the named setting, and the efficient use of council resources.

In addition, we will seek options which promote independence and the well-being of pupils including, for example, encouraging a healthy lifestyle by walking a reasonable distance where the pupil is mobile, and the route is safe.

The Home to School Transport Service is responsible for around 780+ vehicle movements at peak times across the city.

Home to School Travel and Transport key priorities

1. Ensure the most efficient transport arrangements to meet need via:

a. effective route planning to ensure the minimum number of vehicles on the road to ensure safe comfortable journeys that meet children’s needs

b. reducing the number of single passenger journeys, only where shared transport is assessed as appropriate

c. providing training and support to transport staff to tackle issues to ensure a safe and comfortable journey for all, and to prevent the need to split up shared journeys due to behaviours that challenge

d. where appropriate, for older and more independent young people, encouraging pick-ups and drop-offs at safe and accessible central stop

2. Promote cleaner transport via:

a. encouraging cleaner more efficient vehicles, e.g. encouraging use of zero emission vehicles

b. ensuring all vehicles on HTST are less than 10 years old

3. Promote alternative transport arrangements via:

a. encouraging use of public transport where appropriate

b. working with local public transport providers to support safe, accessible and timely journeys 

c. working with other local service providers to support active travel, such as bikeability

4. Provide a programme of independent travel training for young people who could benefit from this

Action 1a, 1b, 1c

In September 2021 the HTST identified, following risk assessments, a number of single passenger journeys that could be re-grouped safely, to ensure fewer vehicles on the road.

The HTST full training programme for transport staff, including online modules and extended webinars, is increasing the skill set of transport staff to support complex young people, including those with medical needs, anxiety associated with developmental disorders such as autism, and behaviours that challenge.

HTST risk assessments cover vehicles as well as each child, so we can recognise issues that may arise and take the necessary steps to mitigate them.

The service has a SEND (Special Education and Needs and Disabilities) Officer in post, whose expertise are deployed in tackling any issues on transport, working with parent carers, schools and providers to ensure journeys are safe and comfortable for all.

Consequently, transport providers are better able to manage small groups of young people on transport as a consequence of a high-quality training programme. This has helped to maintain a number of shared journeys in 2021.

Action 1d

The HTST service require its suppliers to conduct their operations in a sustainable manner, in line with the council’s Sustainable Procurement Policy.

Action 2a

Termly contract reviews enquired about environmentally friendly vehicles.

In the 2023 contract it is intended that:

• sustainability requirements will be detailed in the specification, which will form part of the contract
• the invitation to tender will include a sustainability quality question
• the contract will include Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) linked to reducing environmental impact

Action 2b

Spot checks with the Licensing Team at school sites have been identifying any vehicles older than 10 years.

There will be consideration as to whether vehicle emissions standards should conform to those of the wider local taxi/PSV licensing provisions, which are expected to reflect the city’s Carbon Neutral 2030 target.

We do however appreciate that moving to more sustainable vehicles may be a challenge for operators due to delays in the availability of electric wheelchair accessible vehicles.

Action 3a

559 public bus or train tickets have been issued at the time of writing.

Action 3b

Find out how we work with buses.

Action 3b

Find out about Cycle training for children and young people.

Action 4

Funding for a pilot year for independent travel training to support children and young people with SEND to increase travel independence has been agreed. There are expected to be around 10 pupils travel trained in the pilot year attending Plumpton college / BACA / Shoreham academy / BGMET / Homewood college / and Kings College.

The provider will be contracted to directly deliver travel training to students, the contract will not include training for schools' staff or others.