A new artificial intelligence (AI) platform developed with support from the Department for Transport is being piloted as a potential solution to one of the UK’s most entrenched transport challenges: the school run.
The proportion of pupils being driven to school in England has risen by 23% since 2005, with 37% now travelling by car instead of walking, cycling, or using public transport. At the same time, the number of children walking to school has dropped by around 4%. The morning school run now accounts for nearly 30% of peak-time traffic in London and is a growing contributor to congestion and emissions across the country.
The STEP platform
The new tool, known as STEP (School Travel Engagement Platform), has been created by the UK-based start-up HomeRun. It uses anonymised postcode data, combined with behavioural, social, and geographical factors, to predict how pupils travel to school. By applying AI at scale, STEP can reveal where car dependency is highest, which routes are unsafe, and where investment in walking, cycling, or public transport could have the biggest impact.
HomeRun’s target is to cut the proportion of pupils being driven to school from 37% today to under 10% by 2035 — the equivalent of removing 650 million car journeys over the next decade.
Unlike traditional school travel plans, which require surveys and the cooperation of overstretched headteachers, the platform allows councils and government departments to plan interventions at county or even national level without the administrative burden falling on schools.
Essex pilot
Essex County Council (ECC) was the first authority to pilot STEP. With only one officer previously responsible for 520 schools across the county, ECC was limited to working with around 35 schools per year. Using STEP, the council was able to model travel patterns for over 210,000 pupils across all 520 state schools.
The resulting data has been used to underpin a major funding bid for 30 new School Streets, which restrict car access during drop-off and pick-up times. If successful, this would represent one of the largest School Streets rollouts in England outside London.
Helen Akpabio, Active Travel Manager at ECC, noted that the tool allows interventions to be based on need rather than the enthusiasm of parent-teacher associations or individual staff: “For the first time, all schools are assessed on a level playing field. Interventions can be focused where they are most needed, not just where engagement is most responsive”.
Broader implications
The school run has long been overlooked in national transport strategies. With local authorities spending more than £2 billion annually on statutory home-to-school transport for SEND students alone, many councils have scaled back wider school transport provision to the bare minimum.
While some urban councils have introduced School Streets in recent years, these are often concentrated in quieter residential areas. Schools located on main roads or in rural areas have largely missed out. Campaign groups such as Green School Runs and Solve the School Run argue that platforms like STEP could help councils and communities take a more equitable, evidence-led approach.
The importance of tackling the school run was recognised on 2 July 2025, when the mayors of England’s Combined Authorities signed a national pledge to prioritise walking, wheeling, and cycling, with a specific focus on the school journey. However, campaigners and local authorities warn that without robust data tools, councils risk “spending limited funds blindly”.
Looking ahead
HomeRun’s CEO, Pooya Kamvari, said that if the Essex results were replicated nationally, the UK could see a dramatic shift in school travel habits:
- A reduction of 650 million car journeys
- Significant cuts in congestion and peak-time emissions
- Healthier, more active travel choices for families
The company is calling on the government to support councils in adopting a data-led approach by:
- Developing a national school run strategy
- Funding nationwide use of STEP and similar tools
- Incentivising councils to invest in interventions with measurable impact
- Requiring private and independent schools to participate, reflecting their disproportionate contribution to school run traffic
- Supporting new tools like the STEP Parent Portal to give families personalised travel alternatives
Campaigners say that after decades of rising car dependency, AI-driven platforms could finally provide the intelligence needed to reshape one of the most stubborn elements of UK transport.
