HomeRun STEP
Powering an evidence-led approach to the school run
Giving councils and schools a consistent, evidence-led basis for planning and prioritising school travel at scale.
HomeRun STEP is currently being used by multiple local authorities to understand school travel, prioritise interventions, and support evidence-led decision-making.
The challenge councils face
of UK schools lack up-to-date travel information
Limited officer capacity
and resources
In many authorities, just one or two officers may be responsible for supporting hundreds of schools, making consistent engagement and analysis extremely difficult.
Reliance on school engagement that is hard to sustain
Councils often depend on schools finding the time and resources to engage, leading to patchy participation and uneven coverage.
Insufficient data for
evidence-led decisions
Without consistent, up-to-date data, it is difficult to plan strategically, prioritise interventions, or justify investment with confidence.
What if we could understand the school run at both a journey level and with national scale?
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Introducing STEP
STEP - the School Travel Evaluation Platform - was created to give councils a consistent, scalable way to understand and plan the school run.
Using anonymised postcode data and a rich dataset of hundreds of thousands of school journeys, STEP models how pupils travel to school today and what sustainable alternatives are realistically possible.
This provides councils with a defensible evidence base to plan, prioritise, and justify action at scale.
And it does this all without the need for school engagement.
“STEP pinpoints where and which interventions will work best saving time, money, and effort.”
> Helen Akpabio
Active Travel Manager, Essex County Council
STEP Benefits
Save significant officer time by automating travel analysis – without relying on school engagement
Prioritise School Streets and active travel interventions with evidence
Strengthen funding bids with quantified, defensible insight
Improve equity by assessing all schools consistently
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Integrate the school run into wider transport and place-based planning
Case studies
How councils and communities are using STEP
"The quality of the information is exceptional.
STEP automates complex travel analysis without relying on school engagement, saving significant officer time and allowing us to prioritise School Streets and wider active travel interventions. ”
> Julie Cooper
Road Safety Lead, Thurrock Council
Interested in exploring STEP for your authority?
Request a conversation >