Cokethorpe School

Travel Questionnaire: Results Summary

At the end of the Michaelmas Term pupils were asked to complete a questionnaire about travelling to and from School. The questionnaire is the start of a process to find more sustainable ways for us all to travel to and from School. We aimed to find out both how pupils would ideally like to travel and how they currently travel; what they like and dislike and how this could be improved. We are currently working to implement some of the suggestions.

To download the following results please click here.

1. How Would our Pupils Perfer to Come to School?

The below table shows both how pupils currenly travel to School and how they would prefer to travel to School:

Method of Transport Current Method Preferred Method
Foot 3 14
Bike 0 94
Car 155 234
School Bus 357 143
Public Bus 0 8


1.1 Those preferring to walk to school
11 currently come on the bus and 3 currently come in the car. The reasons stated for not walking are that the journey is too far (11), they would not feel safe (6), too many bags to carry (3).

1.2 Those preferring to cycle to school
57 (16%) of those who currently come on the bus would like to cycle, 37 (24%) of those who come in the car would prefer to cycle. The most common reason chosen for not cycling is that the journey is too far, although for those who come in the car the most common reason is that they have too many bags. Some other reasons were also given as to why respondents didn’t cycle: ‘no path’, ‘too many hills’, ‘I would have to wake up really early, my bike has been stolen’, ‘No where to keep bikes’, ‘My parents would not let me’, ‘Dangerous road’.

1.3 Those preferring to come to school by car
76 come by car, 158 come on the bus but 37% say that can’t come in the car; it is too far, their parents work and have no time to bring them, they themselves can’t drive yet or that the fuel costs would be too expensive.

1.4 Those preferring to come to school by bus
110 already come by bus. 33 currently come by car, 25 come to school with other family members or friends.

2. Current Travel

Our pupils currently travel either by School Bus or by car. One questionnaire was given to the 197 pupils who do not have a place booked on the bus and a different questionnaire was given those who do have a bus place booked. The questionnaire was not given to the 9 children in The Reception Class.

2.1 Responses from those who do not travel on the bus
158 (80%) of the forms given to those who do not travel on the bus were returned.

We know these children must travel by car and we wanted to know if each car coming in and out of school carried just one pupil or whether cars were shared. Two thirds of respondents share their car journey to school; 61% travelling with family members and 13% sharing with friends. 29 of those who do not currently travel on the bus say they would prefer to do so. 13 of these respondents say 'it is too expensive’ to travel on the bus.

51 cars usually come to and from school with only one passenger. ‘It is easier in the car’, ‘I go by car because it is on the way to my Mum's workplace’. 21 of these are Juniors whose school day finishes before 5pm ‘I like to go in the car with my Mum’. 12 are Sixth Formers, ‘I get to drive so it is good’. Of those respondents who travel on their own 8 would prefer to come on the bus, 12 would prefer to cycle.

The additional comments made by those who do not use the bus fell into three main categories. The first regarding the local road safety ‘The road is quite unsafe because of the many fast drivers’, ‘I think the main road should be a double white line so there is no overtaking and there should be speed cameras’. The second group mention how they like the journey; ‘I like to go in the car with my Mum’, ‘It’s quick and easy by car’, ‘I am happy coming in the car’. The largest group of complaints is about the large queues of cars waiting to leave the school: ‘Massive queue on the way home’, ‘The queue in school is too long’, ‘The buses get in the way, queues too long’.

2.2 Responses from bus travellers
357 (78%) of the forms given to those who travel on the bus were returned.

2.2.1 What bus travellers like:
212 respondents like the social side of travelling on the bus. They mention being able to talk to friends, being able to talk to others in different year groups, the friendly atmosphere on the bus and friendly bus drivers. 7% of respondents appreciated the convenience of travelling on the bus. 4% appreciated the warmth of their bus. The remainder, who expressed a preference, like having the chance to relax, read, do some revision, listen to music or even sleep on the bus on the way to or from school.

2.2.2 What should improve
265 respondents made suggestions to improve their journey. For 27% of these the journey takes too long; perhaps because they seem to make too many stops, the route seems 'out of the way', or because the time of travelling (before 8.30am and after 5.00pm) means there is a lot of traffic on the roads. Some would prefer to leave earlier (in the evening) and some would like to be able to get up later. Some worry that they do not have enough time to complete homework because of time spent travelling.

18% of the suggestions were for a bigger bus; for some this was to give more leg room, for others allowing more space for bags. For some the bigger bus was so that pupils could travel home with a friend in the evening. 14% of the suggestions were for a better bus; they asked for more comfortable seats and more luxury. Other suggestions were for televisions, DVD players, the chance to choose the radio station, snacks, provision of on board breakfast service, hot chocolate and a chocolate machine. An improvement in other pupils’ behaviour was suggested by some. One quote was: ‘Too rowdy, I would change the people’. There were 14 requests for rubbish bins on the buses.

2.2.3 To the bus stop
We also wanted to know how long the journey to and from the bus stop was and how bus travellers get to the bus stop. 60% usually walk to their bus stop, although several said that they do come in the car if they are late or the weather is poor. ‘Car in morning if weather is bad’, ‘Walk in summer drive winter’, ‘Car if raining’, ‘Car when I'm late’, ‘Car when lazy’. For 75% of these walkers the journey to the bus stop is less than 5 minutes, we know that for many the stop is conveniently right outside their house. Only 12% of those walking to the bus stop claim this journey takes more than 10 minutes.

For the 125 respondents that get to the bus stop by car the main reason given is that the bus stop is too far from home to walk, although 13% are given a lift to the bus stop by a parent who is on their way to work. Other reasons given were ‘No time to walk’, ‘Too far’, ‘Because of the dark’, ‘We are late’, ‘Road too dangerous’, ‘No pavement to walk on’ and several simply wrote ‘Lazy’.