A US-style school bus system that has been running in West Yorkshire could save 180 million car journeys across Britain.

The Yellow School Bus Commission, chaired by the MP David Blunkett, has conducted a year-long review of school transport.

It found that the number of children coming to school by car had doubled in the last 20 years, with two fifths of all primary school pupils and a fifth of secondary school students being driven. This accounts for one in five car journeys in the morning rush hour. The commission concluded that a bus system similar to that in the US would reduce congestion, improve attendance times and offer pupils a safe way to get to school. It said that yellow buses should be provided for children living more than a mile from primary school and two miles from secondary school. It estimated that funding of up to £10,000 per primary school would be needed to introduce buses, and suggested schools work together to maximise use of the vehicles.

Parents would be expected to pay between £1 and £2 per day, except those entitled to free school meals or free school transport. The additional annual cost of the service would run to £154 million, the report estimated. The secondary school scheme would cost £50 million to £100 million.

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