School bus is just the ticket - but not with mum and dad

If you have left the house any time between 8am and 9am or 3pm and 4pm over the past week, you'll have noticed that the kids have gone back to school. September is a time that brings a welcome relief to parents and heartbreak to teachers who had finally managed to wind down after a few weeks away from the pressures of the classroom.

- with Kate Wobschall

For pupils starting high school, it can also mean a fresh challenge-catching the school bus. Or indeed any bus.

The latest National Travel Survey found roughly half of primary school children were chauffeured to school by car with a mere four per cent taking the bus. High school pupils, however, were far more likely to venture forth on public transport.

So starting secondary school can offer a rare glimpse of freedom, whether it means grabbing a Day Rover or hopping aboard a chartered service that drops and collects the little darlings right outside school.