ONE IN 10 parents will change how their children get to school after the coronavirus pandemic, a new survey has found.

As the new school year starts across the country, eight per cent of parents surveyed have said they will be taking their children off public transport and instead driving them or making them walk or cycle to school.

Car dealer Swansway Group commissioned a survey of 1,000 UK parents and found that of those who said they’d be changing how their kids got to school, 24.3 per cent now planned to drive them while 11.1 per cent would make them walk or cycle.

Visits

These changes tie in with a rise in visits to Swansway Group dealerships this summer from parents looking to buy new family-friendly cars to tackle the school run.

The dealer group has seen an increase in sales for SUV models, particularly those popular with family buyers.

John Smyth, Director at Swansway Group, said: “Our dealerships have seen a new back-to-school trend this year, with parents looking to upgrade their car as they switch from sending children on the bus to driving them instead.

“We’ve already seen people turn to cars in an attempt to avoid public transport, but buyers are clearly preparing themselves for a hectic start to the school year. 

Time slots

“Many parents will be faced with dropping their children off at different schools, within certain time slots, on top of the typical traits of the school run – and it seems for some, doing it in comfort and safety is an important way to start the school term.”

London will see the biggest shake-up in school-run habits after the lockdown, with 17 per cent of parents saying they’ll now either drive their children to school or make them walk or ride. 

By region, parents saying they’ll switch their kids from using public transport to driving them to school will be highest in the east of England (42 per cent).

Swansway Group also surveyed 1,000 parents just before the lockdown and found that, ironically, the biggest gripe among parents was those who drove their children to school when they’re able to walk or use public transport (26 per cent), followed by poor and inconsiderate parking (22 per cent). 

Meanwhile, Swansway Group has found that the most popular family cars sold at its dealerships in the past 18 months are Range Rovers, followed by the Land Rover Discovery.