School travel usually takes place at peak hours and has the same starting point and destination every day. It is therefore often easier to target school trips with road safety programmes and certain travel demand management strategies like shared services. In many ways, walking and cycling are ideal ways to get to and from school, though other countries have invested in school bus transport for school children. Many African cities including Dar es Salaam have done little to promote sustainable, safe, comfortable, secure, affordable and environmentally friendly school travel. Additionally, little is known about how school children would like to get to and from school, the factors that influence school travel mode choice and the potential of measures that have improved school travel in other countries. This paper presents the current and preferred modes of travel to and from school based on a survey that involved 18 schools in Dar es Salaam city. In addition, the paper identifies several factors that influence the use of available school travel modes.