Environment and parental factors as determinants of mode for children's leisure travel

Abstract

This study was aimed at increasing our understanding of environmental and parental factors influencing mode choice for children's journeys to organized leisure activities. Three hundred and fifty-seven Swedish parents of 8–11-year-old children completed a questionnaire and kept a travel diary. The design of urban environment, in which the families lived, was assessed by a group of five experts. By means of multiple regression analyses it was found that the parents’ attitude towards chauffeuring was related to environmental factors such as traffic environment, quality of footpaths and cycle paths, and sense of community as well as the number of cars in the household. The attitude towards independent travel was related to characteristics of the child, such as age and maturity, and individual parental factors, such as trust and the need to protect their child, and whether there were older children in the household. Both the relative frequency of journeys made independently and by car was related to the parent's attitude towards independent travel, as well as environmental and parental factors. To decrease car usage and increase children's independent travel to leisure activities, planners and policy-makers should focus on improvements in the traffic environment and promote a favourable attitude towards independent travel.