Baden-Württemberg plans to ban parent taxis: school streets for children!

Baden-Württemberg plans to ban parent taxis: school streets for children!

A breath of fresh air is blowing through transport policy in Germany. Today, July 9, 2025, the topic of “parent taxis” is the focus in Baden-Württemberg, where a ban on dropping off children in front of schools is being considered. Loud RTL The Ministry of Transport is planning a ban that would prohibit parents from dropping off or picking up their children by car directly in front of school. But official confirmation is still pending, as the ministry announced upon request.

In this context, the introduction of so-called school streets should be promoted. These streets could be temporarily closed at the beginning and end of school hours to allow children to travel safely to school. Minister Winfried Hermann from the Green Party has set itself the goal of setting up school streets at suitable school locations across the board. However, the decision on this lies with local authorities, who face challenges, particularly when it comes to student safety.

School streets as a solution for a safe environment

The need for school streets is illustrated by the current traffic situation. According to the Federal Statistical Office, around 20,500 children between the ages of 6 and 14 were injured in traffic accidents in 2022 - an alarming signal. Only a fifth of these injured children were on foot, while the majority had an accident while riding a bicycle or in a car. Traffic expert Simon Höhner emphasizes that the safest way for children to get to school is to walk, which is greatly endangered by the current situation.

A Forsa survey shows that around a quarter of parents take their children to school by car, which leads to increased traffic and traffic jams. This traffic situation not only poses a risk for the children, but also frustrates the residents. Interestingly, 86 percent of those surveyed reject primary school students from traveling to school by car, while only 19 percent find it dangerous to travel on foot or by bike. Another reason for driving is lack of time and poor access to the public transport network.

First test projects in Cologne and other cities

The concept of school streets is already being actively tested in Cologne. Test runs will be carried out at four schools until the Easter holidays to check the effectiveness of the measure. In other cities, such as Frankfurt am Main, it has already been shown that a pilot project to introduce school streets has led to a reduction in parent taxis and thus to a safer environment for children.

But the regulations for school streets in Germany have so far been vague. While the legal framework is still pending in our country, hundreds of school streets have already been established in other European cities such as Paris. Here, the safety of children on the way to school is upheld and actively supported through the school street concept. The ministry in North Rhine-Westphalia is proposing to introduce school streets through partial road closures in order to enable parents and children to have a safer route to school.

These measures and initiatives show that road safety is playing an increasingly important role for children in Germany. The discussion about banning parent taxis and introducing school streets can therefore be seen as a small but significant step in the right direction. Time will tell whether these measures can be implemented long-term and across the board.