A survey has recently taken place which uncovered how 1 in 10 parents are now looking to alter how their kids will get to school for the rest of the academic year, by taking on the extra responsibility of driving them themselves, due to pandemic worries.
8% of those asked have reported that they will be ditching public transport and replacing it with their own cars, walking or cycling.
The survey was sent out to 1,000 parents of school-age children, throughout the UK, by car dealers Swansway Group. They learnt 24.3% would drive whilst 11.1% would insist on their children walking/cycling.
The survey was commissioned by the car sales company after a substantial growth in customers was flagged during the summer, each looking to purchase family-friendly vehicles from the group in order to suit their home to school transportation needs. SUV sales in particular have rocketed since the announcement of the return back to school.
The company noted an increase in specific car sales throughout the pandemic and the previous 18 months and have deemed the following as the perfect ‘family carrier’:
• Land Rover Range Rover
• Land Rover Discovery
• SEAT Leon
• Peugeot 3008
• Volkswagen Tiguan
• Peugeot 2008
• Audi Q3
• Audi Q5
• Honda Civic
• Jaguar F-Pace
“Both our dealerships and showrooms have noticed a recurring pattern, this year particularly, revolving around the kids being back in school. The want for parents to better their current vehicle has risen due to decisions to drive their children to school as opposed to them using public transport as they were previously.” says John Smyth, Director of Swansway Group.
“At the moment there have been multiple new health and safety systems put into place by the schools, including specific drop-off schedules for each year group. This makes for a chaotic environment for both children and parents. Managing these changes with the assistance of an upgraded, more practical, and ultimately comfier vehicle can help put minds at ease.”
All eyes are on London as they will be experiencing the biggest shift in as 17% of parents surveyed admitted to making the new switch to driving.
It’s certainly interesting to learn that previous to lockdown the Swansway Group also surveyed 1,000 parents who claimed that their biggest issues with their morning school-run routine was the lack of respectable and considerate parking (22%) and the amount of parents who, despite living within walking/cycling distance to the school gates, still insisted on driving their children to school (26%).
Contact a.ling@swanswaygarages.com for more information.
