The economic benefits of yellow school bus schemes are well known except perhaps in government circles. The latest report to look at this issue is Unfit for Purpose by The Institute for European Environmental Policy (IEEP). Their report looked at fuel, climate change and obesity.

Now while the assignment report is about the business of education, it also thinks that obesity and transport are two issues which impact on business and may be business opportunities. From an economic perspective, reducing congestion and obesity amongst young people has direct economic benefits to employers and are interlinked, achievable goals where government and business can work together.

While Greenpeace’s funding of the IEEP report is an issue, its findings that rather than focusing on food we should be looking at getting more people cycling and walking, looks to be a practical approach. In 1989, parents averaged 55 miles per year taking their children to school, by 2005 this has jumped almost 50% to 82 miles per year.

However, in an age when many media outlets see danger lurking around every corner, it’s unlikely that without significant support from the private sector, any of the IEEP’s suggestions will be implemented. The most radical of these is setting up exclusion zones around schools to reduce car usage. A more commercial approach may be to get Capita to set up enforcement cameras around schools and to have a congestion charge for the school run. This seems to have had some impact in London and while there would be ways around it (dropping students outside the zone) it may be worth considering, particularly if more walking to school had a positive impact on childhood obesity.

www.ieep.ed