A survey on the mode of transport used by schoolchildren and students in the greater Dublin area has been launched amid concerns of a huge fall off in the numbers walking or cycling.
The Dublin Transportation Office (DTO) is sending 250,000 questionnaires to parents and pupils in Dublin, Wicklow, Kildare and Meath, via their schools and colleges.
According to the DTO, the latest research available -, which dates from Census 2002 - shows a drop of 80 per cent in children cycling to school since 1991. The number walking is down by half, while car travel is up by nearly two thirds.
A 2002 survey by the DTO of the Greater Dublin Area shows over 30 per cent of students living less than a mile from school travelled there by car. A further quarter living less than two miles away were driven to school.
The technical director of the DTO, Frank McCabe, said there was clear evidence that this reliance on cars to get to school was leading to increased traffic congestion.
"Furthermore, whole generations of future citizens are being brought up to think the car is the only way to get around," he said.
"We are conducting this schools travel survey this year, to update the data available, and to analyse it alongside the 2006 Census data, to ensure that future planning delivers the most sustainable transportation system possible."
Green Party Health spokesman John Gormley said the decline in walking and cycling was "extremely worrying", warning that it could lead to increasing rates of obesity and related illnesses.
"It's time now for real joined-up thinking in Government. The recommendations from the taskforce on obesity - which include building more safe cycle ways to schools - have yet to be implemented.
"Parents are rightly concerned that allowing their children to walk or cycle to school is putting them at added risk. This results in more parents driving their kids to school - making the problem worse."
According to Dublin City Council research, the average trip length to school by bicycle is just over a mile. The study also showed 69 per cent of cyclists would let their children cycle to secondary school, dropping to only 43 per cent of car commuters.
