Children's Travel Mode Research Articles

Socio-environmental factors associated with shifts in children's travel mode between 6 and 8 years

IntroductionActive school travel (AST) is an important contributor to child health, yet levels are low and declining in Aotearoa New Zealand. There is a paucity of research exploring change in AST over the earliest school years, a key life stage for setting AST habits for lifelong health gain. We aimed to measure transport mode shifts between 6 and 8 years of age, and identify factors associated with mode shifts. MethodsWe used data from the 6 and 8 year waves of the Growing Up in New Zealand Study, including 642 participants with AST measures at both times. Parents/caregivers were asked about their child's usual transport mode to/from school, perceptions about distance to school, school community cohesion, perceptions of their child at school, and a range of sociodemographic factors. At 8 years, children also self-reported perceptions of peer relationships and school. Factors associated with shifts from active to passive, and passive to active modes from 6 to 8 years were explored using stepwise logistic regression with backwards selection. ResultsAST was low at both time points (37% at 6 years, 34% at 8 years). Overall, 12% moved from active to passive modes and 9% moved from passive to active modes. Higher odds of shifting to active travel modes at 8 years were found for boys, living closer to school, parent-reported importance of living close to school, and child-reported peer relationships/liking school at 8 years. Only one factor was associated with changing to passive modes; for each one unit increase in school community cohesion at 6 years, the odds of changing to passive modes versus remaining with active modes was 15%. ConclusionFindings from this study highlight an urgent need for policy and practice to enable and encourage active travel modes for young children and their families.

Correlates of Active School Transportation During the COVID-19 Pandemic Among Canadian 7- to 12-Year-Olds: A National Study.

Active school transportation (AST) is an important source of physical activity for children and a potentially important climate change mitigation strategy. However, few studies have examined factors associated with AST in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic. We used baseline data from a longitudinal survey to investigate correlates of AST during the second wave of COVID-19 (December 2020). We collected survey data from 2291 parents of 7- to 12-year-olds across Canada and linked this information with data on neighborhood walkability and weather from national databases. We assessed potential correlates representing multiple levels of influence of the social-ecological model. We used gender-stratified binary logistic regression models to determine the correlates of children's travel mode to/from school (dichotomized as active vs motorized), while controlling for household income. We examined the correlates of travel mode for both the morning and afternoon trips. Consistent correlates of AST among Canadian children during the COVID-19 pandemic included greater independent mobility, warmer outdoor temperature, having a parent who actively commuted to work or school, living in a household owning fewer vehicles, and living in a more walkable neighborhood. These findings were largely consistent between boys and girls and between morning and afternoon school trips. Policymakers, urban planners, and public health workers aiming to promote AST should focus on these correlates while ensuring that neighborhoods are safe for children. Future research should monitor the prevalence and correlates of AST as COVID-19 restrictions are removed.

Making the right decision for our children's future: Parents' perceptions of active school travel in disadvantaged neighborhoods

BackgroundChildren's possibility to be physically active is linked to their parent's socioeconomic status. The use of active travel has the potential to increase daily physical activity among children. Parents are the gate-keepers to children using active school travel (AST) and their perceptions has shown to impact children's travel mode. Few studies have explored parents' perceptions about AST in disadvantaged neighborhoods and there is a lack of knowledge of their perceptions of the physical and social environment associated with school travel. PurposeTo explore parents’ perceptions towards AST when living in disadvantaged neighborhoods. MethodsTwelve parents participated in semi-structured interviews, and a qualitative content analysis was used to analyze the data. ResultsThe findings show that parents faced dilemmas, striving to facilitate AST. Parents perceptions are presented as A, B, C categories that are likely to be important when promoting AST in disadvantaged neighborhoods, Acknowledging AST advantages, Balancing barriers, and Creating opportunities to use AST. ConclusionsDespite having a positive attitude towards AST, insecure neighborhoods and social exclusion affect parents'descisions about AST. When promoting AST in disadvantaged neighborhoods, measures to enable AST should include efforts supporting community building, social participation, road safety and ways of promoting bicycling. Engaging children in AST could have a positive influence on their independent mobility, thereby impacting their development and preparing them for the future.

The influence of external factors on children's travel mode: A comparison of school trips and non-school trips

This study examined travel patterns of pupils from four secondary schools in Austria and Germany. Their mobility behavior was examined using a one-week travel diary in a typical school week. This paper examines objective determinants (in particular settlement pattern and trip characteristics) of mode choice. We used a Bayesian approach for nonlinear Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) of binary response variables to assess the effects of external factors on the choice of travel modes. The focus lies on the competitiveness between car and transit. The results indicate that children's modal choices are influenced by trip length and the service quality of motorized modes. A key finding is that school trips and non-school trips are very different. School trips are quite affine to transit even in rural areas, given a sufficient service quality, which can easily be provided by a school bus system. Long school trips increase the frequency of transit use. Non-school trips, however, are much more affine to car ridership, if trip length exceeds the range for walking and cycling.

Does parental support influence children's active school travel?

Today's ‘backseat generation’ of children is more often driven to school. Active school travel (AST) can contribute up to 30% of recommended daily physical activity. Although governed by a complex set of factors, parents are considered ‘gatekeepers’ of children's travel mode decisions. Therefore, we investigate the relationship between parental support and children's AST.Data were from Active Streets, Active People-Junior (British Columbia, Canada). Children self-reported travel mode to/from school for 1 week (10 trips). We assessed parental perceived neighborhood traffic and crime safety (Neighborhood Environmental Walkability Scale-Youth) and frequency of parental support for AST (0–5 ×/week). We investigated the association between daily AST behaviour and parental support using logistic regression (controlling for age, sex, distance to school and perceived neighborhood safety).In our sample (n = 179, 11.0 ± 1.0 years, 59% girls), 57% reported daily AST and 63% of parents provided daily support. Bivariate analyses showed AST behaviour was significantly associated with parental support frequency and parents' perceived safety. In adjusted analysis, daily parental support remained significantly associated with daily AST (OR 9.0, 95% CI 4.2, 19.7).The relationship between parental support and AST was independent of noted correlates of AST. Thus, interventions that focus solely on changes to the built environment may not be enough to encourage AST. Therefore, interventions that aim to increase AST should involve parents and children in the planning process.

A Model Development for Children's Walking in Neighborhood

Motorized travel mode to school affects children's interaction with the environments in their journey that causes many consequences for them. With focus on children's and parents’ perception regarding environment, this paper addresses some factors that affect children's travel mode choice in their school journey in Iran. The method used in this study was analysis of collected data through questionnaire and interview. The results revealed the relations of three significant factors influencing children's walking mode choice in their school way. Identified factors can lead to design appropriate settings in their routes that can cause benefits for children and parents.

Controlling factors of the parental safety perception on children's travel mode choice

The travel mode of children changed significantly over the last 20 years, with a decrease of children travelling as pedestrians or cyclists. This study focuses on six to twelve year old children. Parents determine to a large extent the mode choice of children in this age category. Based on the analysis of an extensive survey, the research shows that traffic infrastructure has a significant impact on parental decision making concerning children's travel mode choice, by affecting both the real and the perceived traffic safety. Real traffic safety is quantified in terms of numbers of accidents and road infrastructure. For the perceived traffic safety a parental allowance probability is calculated per road type to show that infrastructure characteristics influence parental decision making on the children's mode choice. A binary logistic model shows that this allowance is determined by age, gender and traffic infrastructure near the child's home or near destinations frequently visited by children. Since both real and perceived traffic safety are influenced by infrastructure characteristics, a spatial analysis of parental perception and accident statistics can be used to indicate the locations where infrastructure improvements will be most effective to increase the number of children travelling – safely – as pedestrians or cyclists.