“We have next-door neighbours as well that we would rely on, for those emergencies, if somebody needed dropping off, they woke up too late or we were out of town.”
Despite frequent talk of improved public transport – and a recent surge in popularity for electric scooters – cars still dominate the school run in New Zealand, particularly in Auckland.
The latest Census data from 2023 show more than half of students of all ages travel in a private vehicle, 40.7% as a passenger and 10.4% as a driver.
In comparison, 17.8% walk or jog, while 9.3% take the school bus, and 8.3% use some form of public transit (bus, train or ferry).
According to the Census data, more kids are being driven to school than in 2018, while fewer are walking, cycling or using public transport.
Parents’ tips
During their intermediate years, Jodie Peters’ two sons would bus to school, which later changed to either driving themselves or walking in secondary school.
She said they are fortunate to live only 2km away from their high school. ”So if it wasn’t a bus, it was walking.”
Her eldest son got a moped as soon as he received his learner’s licence, which helped him “get himself to and from everything”.
Managing a busy after-school schedule with sports training and games meant Peters had to “become a logistical manager”, she said.
“Lots of carpools and public transport, walking to school, dropping off where we could, but yeah, just being organised.”
Cara Roberts speaks about the cost of Aaron Roberts going back to school at their home in Mt Wellington. Photo / Corey Fleming
Cara Roberts said car trips to school provided a steady routine for her and her 11-year-old son.
“It’s quite good because we both have ADHD, so ... something stable consistently is really good for us to manage.”
The electric age
While it’s still early days, electric scooters seem to be catching on as a way for children to get to school.
The owner of the Electric Scooter Shop in Takapuna, Jonno Leonard, told the Herald that in the past year he’s noticed an uptick more children using scooters, which were originally seen as something for older people.
“It took kids a while to get on the electric thing.”
“It hadn’t seeped into the culture at that point because your mum and dad rode one, and people in the city rode one, and I just think it wasn’t acceptable.”
Now, a third of his sales are electric scooters and bikes for kids.
The “big sell” for parents is that it makes their lives easier, Leonard told the Herald.
“We hear that a lot, of ‘oh, he takes himself to his tennis lessons now, and he can go to his tutor after school, and we don’t have to drop him off here, and it gives him his independence’.“
