Factors Affecting Active Commuting to School in Sprawled Cities: The Case of Najran City, Saudi Arabia

Abstract

An increased dependency on motorized modes of transportation has been noticed recently for school children commuting to school, while a major decline in walking to school has occurred. Dependency on motorized modes for commuting to school has many adverse consequences. This paper examines determinants that can influence how children commute to schools for both boys and girls in all school stages in Najran City. Data of morning school commutes were analyzed using a multinomial logit model (MLM). Analytical results indicate that about 37% of students live at a distance of more than 2 km from school, and only 16% live within 500 m of their schools. Almost half of the respondents own more than one car. Regarding walking to school, only 19% of students walk to school, while the rest use motorized modes when commuting to school. The results of MLM show that boys are more likely to walk to school than girls. In addition, age and unemployed family members have a positive relationship with students’ odds of walking while owning cars, income, employed parents, parent education, and distance to school have a negative association with the likelihood of walking to schools. A shortage and uneven distribution of schools, lack of pedestrian infrastructure, and the higher dependency on private drivers can be considered the most important barriers to walking to schools. Thus, responsible agencies must add more schools to reduce the distance between homes and schools, implement safe, paved, and shaded pedestrian sidewalks, and educate students about walking benefits and safety principles.