Parents on Board!
As a parent, at the top of your to-do list is figuring out how to shuttle your children to and from school, activities, sports, friends’ houses, and more each day. Whether your child walks, bikes, scooters, or relies on your car, it’s crucial to recognize the importance of you and your child’s transportation decisions on the climate and environment. In Connecticut, the transportation sector accounts for about 38% of the state’s total greenhouse gas emissions.
But here’s the good news: by encouraging your child to explore alternative transportation methods –walking, biking, scootering, carpooling, using public transport, and more– you can build a safer, healthier, and more active community.
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Why should I care?
YOU have the power to make a difference in our fight against car-centricity. YOU have the power to raise a young generation of eco and climate-conscious citizens. YOUR actions and decisions now shape your child’s transportation habits and the future of our city, state, and nation’s transportation system!
What’s on this page?
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Facts and good-to-know information about the benefits of different alternative transportation options
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Tips and resources on how to incorporate these transportation options into your child’s routine
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An FAQ section to answer your questions and concerns
Also, be sure to share our Youth Page with your child!
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Click on these buttons or scroll down to explore our different sections!
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Walking
Why walk?
Allowing your child to walk is one of the easiest ways to cut down on carbon emissions and reduce air pollution caused by daily car trips. Did you know that back in 1969, up to 41% of children 5-14 had walked to school every day? Today, this percentage has dropped to a mere 11%.​
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Benefits of Walking:
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​Exercise: Walking to and from school helps your child meet the CDC’s recommended one hour of physical activity each day.
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Health: Walking every day helps decrease your child’s risk of obesity, diabetes, and high blood pressure; improves mental health; and even increases academic success!
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​Lifelong habits: Kids who walk to and from school are more likely to retain these healthy habits when they grow up.
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​​Environmental impact: Just by walking twice a week instead of using the car, your family can reduce your carbon emissions annually by 131 pounds.
Getting started:
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Plan your route: Visit http://www.saferoutesinfo.org, a resource that helps parents and other members of the school community plan walking and biking routes to school.
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Walking suggestions: Check out these walking suggestions to help incorporate walking into your child’s daily commute to school.
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Safety first! Take a look at this map of New Haven crossing guard stations to help plan your child’s route to and from school. Also, review this walking safety tips poster to ensure that your child knows the ground rules for staying safe!
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Get involved: You or your child feeling shy about walking to school alone? You can talk to other parents in your neighborhood about organizing walk-to-school days or a walking school bus to chaperone younger children to school safely.
Public Transit
Benefits of Public Transit:
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Lower emissions: Buses emit 36% less carbon dioxide per passenger mile compared to cars.
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Climate impact: According to one UN report, public transportation is “essential” in the fight against climate change.
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Life skills: Familiarizing your child with taking the city bus empowers them to develop important skills like independence, social awareness, mobility, and more.
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Convenience: Taking the city bus is a viable alternative to driving a car if your child is unable to ride the school bus or lives too far from school to walk or bike.
Why public transit?
Public transit is an eco-friendly transportation option that allows your child to convenient get around over long distances while minimizing their carbon footprint.
Getting Started:
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Youth fares: Check out youth fares on the CTtransit website. For youth 5-18, you can purchase two-hour passes for $1.40 each, all-day passes for $2.40 each, or 10-ride passes for $12.60 each.
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Plan your route: Use the Google Maps app or website to plan bus routes with your child.
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Yale Shuttle: The Yale Shuttle is free for everyone! Use this real-time tracker with your child to plan their bus trip.
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Start small: Plan some trial runs if you’re nervous. Take the bus with your child a few times before you let them ride on their own, or coordinate with other parents to have your child travel together with their friends.
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Learn together: Check out this website for tips on talking with your child about public transit and addressing any concerns. Also, take a look at these helpful bus safety tips.
Biking
Why bike?
Biking offers a host of health benefits for your child and is also a fantastic way to reduce carbon emissions and fight against car-centricity. Now is a great time to talk to your child about riding their bike to school, sports, and more!
Benefits of biking:
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Reduce emissions: Biking cuts carbon dioxide emissions by 75% compared to driving the same distance.
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Build lifelong habits: Kids who bike regularly –such as to school– are more likely to continue biking as they grow older.
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Alternative to driving: Biking can be a great alternative to owning a car, too! Instead of rushing to get a driver's license at sixteen, your child can learn to think outside of the car by enjoying the benefits and freedom of biking.
Getting Started:
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Plan your route: Check out this map of New Haven’s extensive network of bike lanes to help your child plan their trip.
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Free bike classes: New Haven Coalition for Active Transportation (NHCAT) offers free bike classes for kids and teens, covering everything from basic riding skills to more advanced techniques on the road. Check out NHCAT’s resources page too!
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Bike safety: Ensure that your child bikes safely by taking a look at this graphic.
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Bike repairs: If your child’s bike needs maintenance, visit the Bradley Street Bike Co-op, a local bike repair shop in New Haven.
Carpooling
Why carpool?
While cars are still part of the equation, carpooling is a much greener option than driving solo. Choosing to organize a carpool brings a range of financial, environmental, and social benefits to your family and community!
Benefits of carpooling:
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Saves time: A little over half of families in the United States spend about five hours per week driving to school, while about a third of families spend up to ten hours. Carpooling helps you cut down on this commute time.
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Saves money: If you carpool every day with another family, you could save up to half of your fuel costs, translating up $400 in savings each year. Plus, you can reduce up to 400 pounds of carbon dioxide emissions annually!
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Reduces traffic and builds community: Carpooling helps reduce traffic congestion and fosters social interactions between children sharing the backseat.
Getting started:
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Learn the ropes: Visit this website to learn how you can start a successful carpool.
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Use an app: Download free carpooling apps like CarpooltoSchool, GoKid, and Pogo to coordinate carpools with other parents digitally.
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Safety first: Take a look at this safe carpooling graphic to ensure that everyone, both parents and kids, know the essentials for managing a safe carpool.
FAQs
Here, we address some commonly-held myths about using healthy transportation options.
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Have more questions or concerns that you want to share with us? We'll answer them. Just drop them in the comments box below.
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Myth: It’s unsafe for my child to walk to and from school by themselves.
Facts:
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Age and safety: By around age ten, most kids are capable of safely crossing streets and handling any unexpected emergencies.
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Study insight: Research shows that "a higher rate of children walking or biking to school has no significant association with traffic-related injury."
Suggestions:
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Safety checklist: Review a walking safety checklist with your child to ensure they are prepared. Feel free to add some of your own ground rules!
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Location sharing: Talk to your child about sharing their location with you. This way, you will always be able to know where they are at a glance. Here are some free location-sharing apps: Life360, GeoZilla, Family Locator.
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Small steps: If you or your child is hesitant, start slowly. Walk with your child several times, then test it out with them walking alone in small increments.
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Walking groups: Form a walking group with other parents so that your child can walk to school with their peers. Check out tips on creating one here.
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Myth: Driving my child is the safest and most efficient way to get them to and from school.
Facts:
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Environmental impact: Driving a car contributes to many extremely negative effects, including air pollution, carbon dioxide emissions, noise pollution, increased traffic, and reduced pedestrian safety.
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Health risks for children: Children are particularly vulnerable to the health impacts of vehicle emissions. They breathe in 50 percent more air per pound of body weight than adults, which increases their risk of developing asthma and other health issues as a result of air pollution.
Suggestions:
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Plan active days: Create a plan with your kids to incorporate active transportation into your weekly routine. For example, have them walk to school every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. Even small reductions in car trips can make a big difference over time!
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Educate yourself and your child: Take a look at our Car Impacts on Oceans page to learn more about some of the negative consequences of our car-centric culture. Also check out this website for a deeper dive into the environment and climate impacts of cars.