Programs such as Safe Routes to School promote healthier and more environmentally sustainable travel to schools across the United States by encouraging students to use active transportation like walking or riding their bikes.
Some research has found that students who participate in these programs experience physical and mental health benefits, improved academic performance, and new opportunities to build friendships. Communities and neighborhoods may also see reduced traffic congestion, fewer automobile crashes, and fewer greenhouse gas emissions.
But do early start times discourage students from walking or biking to school?
Elementary schools are often scheduled to start early in the day (for instance, 7:30 a.m.), sometimes requiring children to leave home before sunrise—especially during the winter months in northern states such as Minnesota. Advocates for Safe Routes to School worry that dark mornings may lead parents or caregivers to drive their children to school rather than allow them to walk or bike.
In a study funded by the Minnesota Department of Transportation (MnDOT), a research team led by CTS scholar Michael Levin, associate professor in the U of M’s Department of Civil, Environmental, and Geo- Engineering, set out to test whether those concerns were supported by actual evidence.
The researchers’ 2025 report, School Start Times Impact on Students Walking or Biking to School: Safe Routes to School, offers insights into how parents perceive morning darkness and whether it truly changes students’ transportation habits.
Researchers used a two-pronged approach: a stated preference survey (what parents say) versus a revealed preference survey (what data shows).
The stated preference survey asked parents directly about what influenced their children’s travel to school and asked them to rate concerns such as traffic safety, distance, infrastructure, and travel before sunrise. In contrast, the revealed preference survey analyzed real-world behavior using StreetLight data, a mobility tracking tool that anonymously aggregates travel patterns. This data allowed researchers to discover how many students were walking or biking and assess whether school start times made a difference.
The results were somewhat surprising. The researchers found no strong evidence that early school start times reduce walking or biking to school. In fact, in some cases, schools with earlier start times actually saw a slight increase in active transportation.
When asked directly, parents rated “travel before sunrise” as only a moderate concern—ranking it lower than more pressing issues such as:
- Distance to school
- Inadequate sidewalks or bike paths
- Dangerous road crossings
- Their child's age and maturity
Even when considering demographic factors or comparing across different districts, the effect of early start times remained minimal.
“Prior to this study, there was no literature and little knowledge about whether—and to what extent—early school start times reduced walking and biking to school,” Levin says. This study has important implications for school districts and transportation agencies alike: rather than focusing solely on changing school schedules, efforts might be better directed toward making routes to school safer and more appealing.
“Study results reinforced the need for MnDOT and local transportation agencies to improve infrastructure around schools that will increase safety for students walking and biking,” says Kelly Corbin, coordinator for MnDOT’s Safe Routes to School program and the project’s technical liaison.
As Minnesota and other states work toward reducing traffic congestion and encouraging healthier school commutes, they now know that early school start times might not be as big a barrier as once thought. Instead, focusing on infrastructure improvements—such as better crosswalks, sidewalks, and traffic calming measures—may be the more effective way to increase the number of students walking or riding their bikes to school.
—Maggie Biever, CTS editor
