Travel mode and participation in structured activities among U.S. teens

Abstract

In the United States, low-income and minority teens are less likely than their affluent and white peers to engage in structured activities like team sports, clubs, and paid work. This gap is problematic because teens who participate earn higher grades, are less likely to drop out of high school, and are more likely to enroll in college. While scholars in other fields focus on program availability and affordability, this paper asks: Could transportation barriers keep some teens from participating? To answer that question, we analyze data on the travel and time use of teens ages 15 to 18 from the American Time Use Survey (2004 to 2018). We find that teens who use a car are far more likely than otherwise similar teens who walk, bike, or ride public transit to participate in extramurals, athletics, and paid work. Because minority and low-income teens are less likely to have a car or a driver’s license, they are less likely to use a car on the survey day. This restricts their ability to participate. What is worse, gaps in automobility have widened over time, particularly by income. While this cross-sectional data cannot definitively indicate causality, we draw on the modal mismatch and transportation disadvantage literatures to interpret these findings. Many teens, particularly low-income and minority teens—cannot reliably access structured activities.