As of: March 6, 2024, 8:09 p.m
By: Lilli Schaule
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17 to 22% of students are driven to school by their parents in the morning.
The so-called parent taxis often cause traffic chaos and dangerous situations.
A movement pass should now counteract this.
© IMAGO/Wolfgang Maria Weber
So-called parent taxis regularly lead to traffic chaos and dangerous situations in front of primary schools.
The director of a Munich elementary school now wants to take action against this - and is focusing on a new project.
Munich – Honking cars, long traffic jams and hectic looks at the clock.
When parents drive their children to the school building early in the morning before school starts, confusing and sometimes dangerous traffic situations often arise.
The majority of the drivers of the so-called parent taxis are also aware of this.
This emerges from an ADAC survey from 2023.
Overall, 59 percent of parents are of the opinion that their driving service would create dangerous traffic situations.
According to this survey, 17 to 22 percent of students in Germany are brought to school by car.
A new project is now dedicated to the fight against parent taxis.
An exercise pass is intended to motivate children to come to school more often by bike, scooter or on foot - a primary school in Munich is also taking part.
Parent taxis are a “perennial favorite” at the Agilolfinger primary school in Munich: the principal explains the problem
Stephanie Bierl is confronted with the traffic chaos that parent taxis cause almost every day.
She is the principal of the Agilolfinger elementary school in the Untergiesing-Harlaching district of Munich.
According to Bierl, many of the 400 students are brought to school by car by their parents - sometimes due to “perceived lack of time”, often also out of “convenience”.
Since there are not many parking spaces in front of the elementary school, many parents let their children out of the car in dangerous places.
“Luckily nothing worse has ever happened,” explains the rector in an interview with our editorial team.
Nevertheless, the parent taxis and the resulting traffic chaos are a “perennial issue” among the staff and parents.
Active project against parent taxis: “Motivate children to exercise more”
40-year-old Thomas Gansert also speaks out against parent taxis.
He runs the SpoSpiTo project together with his father.
The abbreviation stands for “sports, games, romp”.
Together, the father-son team organizes events such as children's activity days or exercise fun in kindergarten.
Your motivation?
“Motivate children to exercise more,” explains Gansert to our editorial team.
Together, the father-son team Reinhard Gansert (left) and Thomas Gansert (right) run SportelnSpielToben.
You would like to get involved in getting children more active.
© SportelnSpielToben/ Reinhard Gansert, Thomas Gansert
He understands the problem of parent taxis primarily through his sister and his wife, who both work as primary school teachers.
He presents the SpoSpiTo movement pass as a solution.
Every time students do not ride the car or bus to school, they receive a signature from their parents.
“This happens on the basis of trust.
Sometimes there has been cheating, but that usually comes out.
The social pressure is too great,” says Gansert, explaining the rules.
Anyone who manages to walk, scooter or bike to school at least 20 times within six weeks will take part in a competition.
You can win vouchers, children's backpacks and a scooter worth over 20,000 euros.
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“If there are fewer parent taxis, safety in front of schools will increase”
For Gansert, the security aspect is the main focus of the movement pass.
“If there are fewer parent taxis, security in front of schools will increase,” he explains.
Another positive thing for him is that the children get more exercise as a result of the project.
“The children become more alert and more balanced, which means they go through their everyday lives with more concentration,” it says on the Movement Pass website.
By going to school without a car, the children would learn about the challenges of road traffic at an early stage and the resulting environmental protection would also be an advantage of the project.
Agilolfinger primary school takes part in the project: “positive response”
Stephanie Bierl and her Agilolfinger elementary school also take part in the campaign.
“The project is a good opportunity to try out whether it can be done without a car,” says the letter to parents.
Participation - the project period runs from March 11th to May 3rd, 2024 - is intended to improve safety in front of the school building for all road users.
“We want the children to see that going to school can be very nice,” says Bierl.
By eliminating parent taxis, larger student groups could be formed, which would increase the exchange between the children.
Participation was coordinated with the teaching staff.
The response was very positive – also from parents.
“Practice, practice, practice”: making children’s journeys to school safe
Thomas Gansert advises parents of children who want to use the movement pass and who are otherwise often brought by car: “Practice, practice, practice”.
Parents are often very afraid of letting their children go to school alone.
However, by preparing together, the dangers of traveling to school can be reduced.
According to Gansert, dangerous traffic areas should be explained in detail and it is always better to choose the route that offers the least traffic risks.
It remains to be seen whether the number of parent taxis will be reduced in the future.
The movement pass should at least be a first step in the appropriate direction.
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