Article categories: News
School travel survey reveals: this is how children and young people get to school
Published: 25.3.2025
Around 64% of children and teenagers in Vaasa walk or cycle to school during the warmer months, when the ground is free of ice. In winter, the number drops to 50%. Action is being planned to increase these numbers, as the mode of transport for the school journey plays a crucial role in a child’s physical activity and the carbon footprint of their travel.
This school year, two surveys on modes of transport for school journeys were conducted in all schools providing Finnish-language basic education in Vaasa. Students were asked how they travel to school.
During the warmer months, the school journey is made:
- by foot or by bike 64%
- by bus 14%
- by car 12%
In winter, the school journey is made:
- by foot or by bike 50%
- by bus 27%
- by car 16%
Don’t drive your child to school – encourage them to be active!
The goal is to get more and more students to walk or cycle to school in every school.
A student commutes between home and school about 400 times over the course of a school year. Sanna Laulaja, physical education teacher and coordinator of the Schools on the Move Programme, has an important message for the parents of school-aged children.
– Don’t drive your child to school but encourage them to be active! The mode of transport for the school journey plays a key role in a child’s physical activity and the carbon footprint of their travel. An active journey to school boosts fitness and prepares the brain for the school day.
Examples of Finnish-language basic education schools setting the standard include Huutoniemi School, Länsimetsä School, and Nummi School, where over 80% of students walk or cycle to school during the warmer months, when the ground is free of ice.
Länsimetsä School (where 66% of students cycle to school during the warmer months), Merikaarto School (65%), and Huutoniemi School (63%) lead the way in cycling to and from school.
Walking and cycling conditions are being improved in collaboration with schools, Public Utility Services and the Premises Management Office
The surveys conducted in September and January are part of the Schools on the Move programme for basic education schools. A third and final survey will be conducted in April.
– The surveys provide concrete data on modes of transport for school journeys, allowing for a better assessment of the impact of the measures taken, says Laulaja.
Cycling conditions are being improved by, for example, enhancing winter maintenance, upgrading and building new infrastructure, replacing bike racks with frame-locking ones, and improving traffic safety on school routes and in the vicinity of schools.
Schools also organise various school journey campaigns and events, such as during Bike Week in May.
In many schools, the topic has been raised in parent meetings, with an emphasis on highlighting the importance of active school travel to parents.
University students rely on muscle power and hope for better bike lanes
University students in Vaasa mostly get around on foot or by bike and hope for better pedestrian and cycling routes, along with improved winter maintenance. This is evident from the University of Vaasa Student Union (VYY) Student-Friendly Vaasa 2024 survey, which was conducted in autumn 2024.
– The survey provided us with invaluable insights into what students believe should be improved in Vaasa. Students are calling for improvements to the condition of bike lanes and walking routes, says Julius Pentti, a member of the VYY board.
This winter, more effort has been put into the winter maintenance of Vaasa’s main walking and cycling routes than in previous years. The city aims to increase year-round cycling, and to achieve this, the super-class bicycle lanes covered by enhanced winter maintenance will be kept in rideable condition around the clock.