The Sutton Trust gave evidence to the House of Commons’ Transport Select Committee on home to school transport. Tessa Stone, the Trust’s Director, told the all-party committee of MPs that only a solution which includes American-style yellow school buses will be able to discourage parents from driving their children to school.

 Introducing school buses would have benefits which go beyond cutting congestion and pollution, and saving parents time. Dr. Stone said, “This is a key social inclusion issue. If you look at the distances travelled to school by children from different income bands, there is a very marked difference in those averages.” Children from families in the highest income quintile travel more than twice as far to school as those from families in the lowest income quintile. School buses would extend school choice – which is only theoretically available for the least well-off – to everyone.