Children's Travel Research Articles

Adjusting mobile phone data to account for children's travel and the impact on measles dynamics in Zambia.

Models of measles transmission can be used to identify areas of high risk to tailor immunization strategies. Estimates of spatial connectivity can be derived from data such as mobile phone records, however it is not clear how this maps to the movement of children who are more likely to be infected. Using travel surveys across two districts in Zambia and national mobile phone data, we compared estimates of out-of-district travel for the population captured in the mobile phone data and child-specific travel from travel surveys. We then evaluated the impact of unadjusted and adjusted connectivity measures on simulated measles virus introduction events across Zambia. The number of trips made by children from the travel survey was three to five times lower than the general population estimates from mobile phone data. This decreased the percentage of districts with measles virus introduction events from 78% when using unadjusted data to 51% - 64% following adjustment. Failure to account for age-specific heterogeneities in travel estimated from mobile phone data resulted in overestimating subnational areas at high risk of introduction events, which could divert mitigation efforts to districts that are at lower risk.

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.

Protection of the rights of orphans and children deprived of parental care during hostilities

The article examines the issue of protecting the rights of orphans and children deprived of parental care during military operations. Particular attention was paid to the legislation of Ukraine on the social protection of orphans and children deprived of parental care, in particular: the Constitution of Ukraine, the resolution of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine "On Amendments to Certain Resolutions of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine Regarding the Protection of Children's Rights During a State of Emergency or Martial Law", "Convention on the Rights of the Child", the Resolution of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine "On Approval of the Rules for Crossing the State Border by Citizens of Ukraine" and other legislative acts regulating legal relations related to the provision of material, social and legal assistance to orphans and children deprived of parental care . Children orphaned by war are the most vulnerable population in need of adequate protection and support. During the war, a large number of children lost their homes and parents, faced the horrors of war, got lost during bombings, evacuation from combat zones, went missing, were forcibly taken to the territory of the aggressor country and do not know anything about their parents, and all of them need proper protection from the state. They may face violence, hunger, disease and other challenges that threaten their lives and health. In addition, the widespread phenomenon of children going abroad, where the control procedure must also be ensured by the state both at the stage of preparation for departure and at the time of crossing the border. Children's travel abroad may be necessary for their safety and well-being. The state must also ensure the possibility of returning children to Ukraine if necessary. The authorities are obliged to ensure the realization of the rights of orphans and children deprived of parental care, in particular, by providing housing, food, medical care and education. Emphasis is placed on facilitating the provision of reliable protection and assistance to orphans and children deprived of parental care through the creation of chatbots by UNICEF (UN).

IoT based School Bus Monitoring System

Abstract: An IoT-based school bus monitoring system is a technology solution that utilizes the Internet of Things (IoT) to monitor and track school buses in real-time. These systems use Internet of Things (IoT) devices and sensors to track the location, speed, and safety of school buses in real-time, allowing schools and parents to monitor their children's travel to and from school. In this literature survey, we will explore the past studies on IoT-based school bus monitoring systems, including their benefits, challenges, and areas for future research. Through a review of the existing literature, we aim to provide a comprehensive overview of the state of the art in this field and identify opportunities for further study.

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.

Residential relocation and changes in household vehicle ownership and travel behavior: Exploring the context of Hubli-Dharwad twin-cities in India from a planning viewpoint

• Studies residential relocations and travel behaviour. • Primary data from Hubli-Dharwad twin cities in India. • Descriptive analysis and structural equations modelling. • Variations in the impact of built environment on travel behaviour. • Travel attitude is not related to self-section. • Self-selection effect due to gender varies between cities. This article simultaneously analyzes residential relocation, vehicle ownership changes, and travel demand changes while accommodating potential self-selection effects to unravel the causal impacts of built environment features on vehicle ownership and travel behavior. Earlier studies on residential mobility have not considered the causal link from objective built environment features to subjective built environment, and rarely control for attitudes and objective built environment features in the empirical analysis. Besides, the literature has not discussed how households perceive neighborhood in terms of children's/women’s travel and how that changes by residential relocation and impact mobility decisions. The paper compares built environment impacts on mobility decisions in two adjacent areas in India, Hubli-Dharwad twin cities, that vary by socio-economic and land use contexts. The study notes that Dharwad residents acquired more personal vehicles than Hubli residents, while the proportion of households who relinquished their vehicles is high in Hubli. Post movement, Dharwad residents opted for areas with higher diversity and density than their counterparts in Hubli. In Hubli, households find that their current location does not help their children use active modes to schools, and women find jobs closer to home. The statistical analysis revealed that Hubli residents prefer locations with improved travel conveniences for women and children. With improvements in the children's travel friendliness, households of both cities decreased vehicle ownership, whereas household vehicle ownership of both cities increased with improvements in women’s travel friendliness. In Dharwad, moving to residential areas characterized by high land-use diversity reduces commute travel, while an inverse association is noted in Hubli. The statistical analysis did not confirm self-selection effects due to travel attitudes. In Dharwad, the latent factor on women’s travel friendliness featured in self-selection and shows an independent effect on vehicle ownership. In Hubli, the factor did not have independent effects on vehicle ownership after accommodating travel attitudes and socio-demographics.

Children's physical activity and active travel: a cross-sectional study of activity spaces, sociodemographic and neighborhood associations

ABSTRACT Measures of individual mobility, such as activity space, have been previously used to help improve our understanding of individuals’ interactions with their everyday environments. However, such methods have rarely been adopted in studying children's physical activity and active travel behavior. In this study, we use a combination of participatory mapping and accelerometer data collected from children aged 8–13 years living in Tāmaki Makaurau/Auckland, Aotearoa/New Zealand, to describe children's travel behavior and explore associations of active travel, physical activity, and socio-demographic characteristics with environmental attributes. The results from this study reveal complex associations between these different layers. Density of cycling routes was consistently associated with higher levels of physical activity captured via moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA), prevalence of active travel, and total activity space exposure. Nevertheless, population density, greenspace, and land-use mix revealed varying associations across different activity behaviors including MVPA, number of steps, and prevalence of active travel. The results from this study not only reassert the complexity of person–environment relationships, but also highlight the potential impacts of measurement and analytical methods on the study results. The novel combination of participatory mapping and accelerometer data together with activity space analysis provided new analytical insights which we discuss in this paper. This study concludes by reporting its observations and envisioning future research directions.

Towards an understanding of family travel decision-making processes in the context of youth sport tourism

Youth sport tourism has grown into a distinct travel segment over the past decade. While communities have invested in sport tourism initiatives, building dedicated sports facilities and competing to host tournaments, little academic attention has been paid to understanding the travel planning and decision-making associated with youth sport families. Utilising an inductive approach, the purpose of this study was to examine the processes and decisions parents make in the context of youth sport tourism to facilitate their children's travel sport participation. In-depth interviews were conducted with youth sport parents from the two US states with significant investments in sport tourism: Indiana and Florida. ( n = 15 FL; n = 18 IN). Three themes were identified in the parents' narratives using grounded theory methods, (1) Travel Logistics, (2) Flow-on Tourism, and (3) Tourn-acations. Travel logistics were dominated by decisions over accommodations and transportation with price and team bonding of consideration. A series of barriers and enablers to participation in flow-on tourism were identified including tournament schedules and proximity to tourist attractions. Decisions to create a mini-vacation out of the tournament trip (tourn-acation) were associated with novelty, distance from home, and timing such as tournaments scheduled around national holidays. A model outlining the family travel decision-making process in the context of youth sport tourism is proffered. Recommendations for DMOs leveraging the flow-on tourism associated with youth sport-events are discussed in addition to acknowledging the role of youth sport tourism in post Covid-19 tourism recovery. • Youth sport tourism family travel decision-making model is proposed. • Price and a desire to be with the team shapes decisions over travel logistics. • Flow-on tourism barriers and enablers identified. • Novelty, distance from home, and timing shape tourn-acation propensity.

Facilitating independent commuting among individuals with autism – A design study in Singapore

IntroductionIn the hope of designing concepts for future transport systems, we would like to understand more about the barriers and challenges faced by individuals with autism when taking public transport in Singapore. However, the limited research studies exploring this topic were all conducted abroad with different transport systems. This paper thus investigates the barriers to public transport in Singapore's context for individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). MethodsIn collaboration with a special needs school, parents of students with ASD were invited to complete the questionnaire online about their children's travel experiences. From a total of 25 parents, details of their children's frequency of travel, independent public transport experiences (if any) and challenges of independent commuting were examined. Based on the survey findings, a requirement list was compiled as a basis for creating a design concept to address public transport barriers of individuals with ASD. ResultsKey requirements summarised from the survey include quiet environments, assistance in alighting, assistance in boarding, predictable travel routines, simplified ways to ask for help, supervision or support, more visual aids, emergency buttons, learning to ask for seats and priority seating. ViCo, a Virtual Companion at bus stops and in buses and trains is proposed in the current paper to address the requirement list of individuals with ASD as highlighted in the survey findings. ConclusionThe proposed implementation of ViCo is expected to improve the commuting experience of individuals with ASD, but can be extended to serve individuals with diverse disabilities as well as people without disabilities.

Virtual Travel Experiences: What Do Iranian Children Learn through Reading Travel Literature?

Virtual Travel Experiences:What Do Iranian Children Learn through Reading Travel Literature? Somayeh Sadat Hashemi (bio) and Narges Babaei (bio) Communication plays an important role in people's lives. Although advanced communication media are at the service of mankind, travel and journeys are still recognized as effective and attractive means of communication between different communities. Journeys are especially important for children in establishing communication and raising their level of social knowledge about the world around them. Traveling for children, in addition to being fascinating, can satisfy their curiosity about the world around them, helping them gain new experiences and answering their questions about the way of life of people in other lands. Children's literature includes travel literature. Anyone who reads about journeys can easily, without considering the cost of travel, road problems, and the difficulties and risks associated with travel, achieve all the experiences and knowledge that the author of the journey had on a particular trip. The most important aspect of travel literature is the preservation and recording of culture, history, geography, and events at the time of the journey. The reader cannot easily obtain all this information in any other type of writing, and children can gain moral, educational, religious, cultural, and historical knowledge through this kind of reading. Children's travel behavior varies from that of adults in several ways. They have less choice about where they go, and often they are not allowed to travel unescorted by an older person. The benefits of travel are endless—cultural experiences, savory flavors, breathtaking landscapes, new adventures, and tightened family bonds, just to name a few. Here are a few reasons why raising a kid who loves to travel will benefit their development: • Travel opens a child's mind. • It teaches new responsibilities. • It strengthens families. • It boosts school grades. • Children practice tolerance and acceptance. • Travel promotes socialization. • Children learn self-reliance and how to combat boredom. (Mackett) [End Page 89] Unfortunately, given the current state of the world, travel increases people's chances of getting and spreading COVID-19. As a result of the pandemic and recommendations regarding its control (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention), there is less travel occurring. However, parents can use literature about journeys to boost children's imagination and increase their knowledge. This can also encourage children to read more. Due to the current state of the world as a result of the pandemic and the recommendations regarding its control (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention), there is less travel occurring. Parents can use can use children's literature about journeys to boost children's imagination and increase their knowledge. This could also encourage children to read more. The first piece of travel children's literature in Iran was Jamshid and Mahshid Tourism (1953) by Abbas Yamini Sharif. However, it was not until the 2000s that travel children's literature grew in quantity and quality (Mohammadi). Travel literature can be a type of interdisciplinary literature that combines literature, history, geography, and sociology. It encompasses outdoor literature, guidebooks, nature writing, and travel memoirs. These books come in different styles, literary or journalistic, humorous or serious, and so on. They are often associated with tourism and include guidebooks. Some fictional travel stories are related to travel literature. Although it may be desirable in some contexts to distinguish fictional from nonfictional works, such distinctions have proved notoriously difficult to make in practice, as in the famous instance of the travel writings of Marco Polo or John Mandeville. Overall, though, journeys in children's travel literature can be divided into two categories: real journeys and imaginary journeys. In a real journey, the trip is done in reality and the author expresses his or her observations about and memories of the trip. In a fictional journey, the author does not travel but expresses his or her ideas and opinions in the form of a journey (Aghayari). In this section, descriptive and analytical information related to thirty-eight children's travel books published in Iran is reviewed. These books were either written in the Persian language or have been translated into Persian. Works that were originally authored in Persian represent the higher level of these resources, with 78...

Indian parents’ perception of children's independent mobility in urban neighbourhoods: a case study of Delhi

ABSTRACT Parents’ role, as primary decision-makers, is critical in granting independent mobility permissions to children within local surroundings. This paper aims to explore the parental perception of children's independent mobility (CIM) and the influential urban policies taking the case of an urban neighbourhood in Delhi. The study looks at CIM from a three-lens perspective of concept, concern and challenges. Qualitative interviews were conducted with fifteen parents of children aged 7–12 years, on their understanding of CIM and to obtain CIM license scores. The content analysis reveals that CIM is not only a complex but also a conditional phenomenon, with conditions of ‘time’ and ‘location’ as decisive factors. Lack of trust in children's independent travel to school and the use of public transport were identified as unique challenges affecting overall CIM. Concludingly, by placing the voice of parents at the forefront, this study positions India on the emerging map of CIM domain.

Factors affecting parental safety perception, satisfaction with school travel and mood in primary school children in the Netherlands

IntroductionAn increasing number of studies in transportation research have recently focused on well-being and travel satisfaction. These studies argue that satisfaction with travel is an indicator of the trip's contribution to subjective wellbeing of the traveler. Although the attention on satisfaction with travel is increasing, relatively few studies have considered satisfaction with travel of children. As children's travel is strongly linked to distance and the built environment, they would be important additional considerations to such research. Therefore, this study looks into the household, built environment and trip characteristics influencing satisfaction with travel and mood among Dutch children attending primary school. Additionally, the study considers the mediating effect of parental safety perception on satisfaction with travel and the relationship between satisfaction with travel and mood. MethodsIn order to study these relationships, survey data were collected in the Netherlands from 660 children (7–12 years) and their parents. The data were analyzed using a path analysis. ResultsFindings show that parental safety perceptions are related to the age of the child, income, perceptions of neighborhood infrastructure and social cohesion. Satisfaction with school travel is higher when parental safety perception is higher, when it is sunny, when traveling with a friend and when traveling by bike when this is the favorite transport mode. Satisfaction with travel is related to children reporting a better mood. ConclusionThese insights can be used by policy makers to create safe school environments stimulating active travel, which in turn will improve satisfaction with travel, well-being and health among primary school-going children.

Travel for two.

As I boarded the plane to Spain a few months ago, I looked forward to catching some sun and scientific stimulation at a conference in the middle of the dark, wet Swedish winter. I went through my upcoming oral presentation in my head as my 4-year-old ran ahead, searching for our seats. We have traveled together as a dynamic duo ever since my baby was 3 months old, when we set off to Brazil to attend a conference and conduct fieldwork. I am a nontenured researcher looking for a permanent academic position, and travel is crucial for building my reputation and CV. But this trip would be our last for a while, because paying for my child's travel has rendered me a bankrupt botanist. ![Figure][1] ILLUSTRATION: ROBERT NEUBECKER > “Paying for my child's travel has rendered me a bankrupt botanist.” As a single parent with no family members nearby, I have no alternative but to bring my child with me when I travel for work—and to pay for it out of my own pocket. The expenses add up quickly, including airfare, child care, and increased food costs relative to what we would spend at home. For years, I decided it was worth it. I need to do fieldwork to keep my career going. By giving seminars, presenting at conferences, and participating in working groups, I raise my profile with potential employers and—I hope—improve my chance of landing a permanent position. So, when potential trips came up, I usually took them. But the costs have started to become untenable. To have enough money to pay for rent, groceries, and other necessities, I have become very particular about which opportunities I accept. I've had to decline invitations to give seminars at major institutions and keynote presentations at conferences because the trips would have been too expensive. I can only say yes when an opportunity is too good to turn down and the travel will be relatively affordable. I recently traveled to Germany to participate in a working group—a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to spend 4 days with eminent people in my field discussing a new data set and novel ways to analyze it. It was a tremendous experience, and I'm glad I went. But my child and I ate simple meals for weeks afterward to offset what I spent to participate. Support for dependent travel is simply too rare. Some institutions, particularly U.S. universities, offer grants for this purpose. Last year, I was thrilled to win a €500 “attendance aid grant” offered by the European Society for Evolutionary Biology for its meetings, which covered my child's airfare and child care at the conference. But I have not been able to find any other similar grants or support that I can apply for—from funding agencies, scientific societies, or my institution. On the bright side, free or subsidized child care seems to be getting slightly more common, at least in my field. At the recent working group in Germany and the conference in Spain, free child care was available for anyone who needed it—essential support that made my participation possible. On another occasion, when I said I would have to turn down an invitation to give a lecture because the travel would be too expensive, the organizers offered free child care for the day, which made it feasible for me to attend. But child care is only one piece of the puzzle. More universities, funding agencies, scientific societies, and conference organizers should offer grants and other support mechanisms for parents and other caretakers who incur additional expenses for work-related travel. I acknowledge that resources are limited, and I fully understand the pushback these types of proposals can elicit. Why should hard-won money go to paying for my child's travel? Why should my family be treated differently than any other, in academia or in any workplace? My response is that if academics like me are not supported, we will continue to hit the “glass ceiling,” fall through the “gender sieve,” or whatever else you want to call it. Making science equitable is not about giving everyone the same opportunities; it's about supporting the needs of individual scientists so that we all can thrive. [1]: pending:yes

Impact of an Australian state-wide active travel campaign targeting primary schools.

Active travel can have health and environmental benefits. This study evaluated the impact of a month-long (October 2015) campaign encouraging primary school children in Victoria, Australia to engage in active school travel. With support from local councils, schools participated in the campaign by monitoring active school travel and delivering promotional activities. A longitudinal study evaluated campaign impact. Carers (n = 715) of Victorian primary school children were recruited via social media and completed online surveys at baseline (T1; 0 wk) and during (T2; +2 wks) and after the campaign (T3; +6 wks). Carers reported their child's travel behaviour over the last five school days, and whether their child and/or their child's school participated in the campaign. Separate generalised linear models were used for T2 and T3 outcomes adjusting for T1 values and potential confounders. A greater proportion of children who participated in the campaign engaged in any active school travel at T2 (OR = 2.49, 95% CI = 1.63, 3.79) and T3 (1.62, 95% CI = 1.06, 2.46) compared with non-participating children. Similarly, these children had a higher frequency of active school travel at T2 (IRR = 1.60, 95% CI = 1.29, 1.97) and T3 (IRR = 1.45, 95% CI = 1.16, 1.80). Campaign participation resulted in small, short-term increases in active school travel.

Differences in child-drawn and GIS-modelled routes to school: Impact on space and exposure to the built environment in Auckland, New Zealand

•Use of online participatory mapping to measure children's travel routes to school.•About 50% of the child-drawn routes were spatially matched with GIS shortest routes.•The built environment differed between child-drawn routes and GIS shortest routes.•Active travel routes in pedestrian network were more similar to child-drawn routes.

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.

Exploring independent and active mobility in primary school children in Vienna

Declining active and independent mobility in primary school children poses a threat to the development of the children's psycho-motoric and cognitive abilities. Increasing accompaniment of children, which is often carried out as car transportation, creates more motorized traffic, thus leading to lower likelihood of other children traveling independently and actively. Against this background, a two-step survey was conducted to analyse the active and independent mobility (AIM) of primary school children. In a first step, mobility licenses and mobility data were collected with the help of travel diaries including specific information on travel accompaniment. In the second step, in-depth interviews with parents were conducted. Although the data can only provide a snapshot of the independent mobility of primary school children, this study confirms that active and independent mobility is the result of a variety of factors. The results indicate that – besides trip distance and age –the type of school (all-day/half-day primary school) is likewise relevant. Based on the parents' assessments, significant sharing of trips takes place in case travel accompaniment is unnecessary. Depending on the parents' attitudes towards AIM, we identified three “profiles” (Promoters, Pragmatists and Protectors). Linking these profiles to indicators of AIM reveals that different attitudes manifest themselves in children's travel patterns. The results are limited as only two schools served as sources of data and it was not possible to decouple the parental profiles from children's ages. Overall, it can be concluded that there is potential for improved active and independent mobility in children. To be effective, future campaigns need to consider parental attitudes.

The Relationship Between Transitions in Children's Travel Behaviour and Mental and Physical Health in Japan

Background In Japan, car use is increasing steadily, especially in local regions. Car use is known to cause traffic congestion and global environmental problems, and is also related to health problems such as metabolic syndrome. Adult travel behaviour is habitual, and Senda and Kamioka (2009) reported that the formation of travel habits begin in childhood. Therefore, it is important to analyse the travel behaviour of children and the related social effects when planning future urban transport. We investigated the transitions in Japanese children's travel behaviour, and the differences between children and adults, using Japanese Nationwide Person Trip Survey data (PT data) in 1987, 1992, 2005, 2010, and 2015. We also investigated the relationship between children's travel behaviour, children's obesity, and traffic accidents. Finally, we investigated the influence of habitual car use during childhood on adult mental disposition. Methods First, we examined PT data about Japanese children aged 5–17 years from 63 cities in Japan. We then collected data from the Annual Report of School Health Statistics Research (MEXT, 2010) and data about traffic accidents causing injuries and fatalities (ITARDA, 2010). Finally, we conducted an online questionnaire among adults aged 30–70 years (n=1000) regarding their mental disposition and habitual car use during childhood. We explored the relationships in the data using simple linear and multiple regression analyses. Results The proportion of time children spend traveling by car has increased steadily in Japan, while walking has decreased. In 2015, the proportion of trips by car was higher among children than among adults. The results also revealed more travel by car was associated with more children's obesity, but a lower risk of fatality from traffic accidents. The online survey revealed that adults tended to be more arrogant they had a strong habit of car use during childhood. Conclusions In Japan, children are travelling by car more frequently and walking less. This transition in travel behaviour is one explanation for the increase in children's obesity in Japan. Whereas the decreasing frequency of children's walking is associated with fewer fatalities in traffic accidents, because most traffic fatalities involve children as pedestrians, definitely not because of improvements in Japanese traffic safety. The survey also suggested that habitual car use during childhood is associated with arrogance in adulthood. Therefore, it is important to consider the relationship between children's travel behaviour and physical and mental health when planning improvements to urban transport.

Test-retest reliability and convergent validity of measures of children's travel behaviours and independent mobility

Abstract Introduction Active transportation (AT) and independent mobility (IM) represent promising avenues for increasing children's physical activity and minimizing car use. However, there are limited data on the psychometric properties of measures of AT and IM. Methods 94 child and parent dyads living in Ottawa (Canada) consented to complete a questionnaire twice, approximately two weeks apart, in English or French language. They were questioned on children's travel to/from places (e.g., school, parks, shops) and on the extent of the child's IM. The weekly volume of AT to/from school was calculated by multiplying the number of active trips by the home-school distance. An IM index consisting of six “mobility licenses” (to travel home from school, travel to other places within walking distance, cross main roads, cycle on main roads, go out after dark, and travel on local buses without adult supervision) was computed. Test-retest reliability and convergent validity between children and parents were assessed with Cohen's kappa or intra-class correlation coefficients (ICC). Results The volume of AT to/from school showed high test-retest reliability and convergent validity in both languages (ICC range=0.81–0.97). Similarly, test-retest reliability was also high for the number of active trips to/from all destinations (ICC range=0.60–0.94) and the IM index (ICC range=0.63–0.88). Convergent validity for trips to/from all destinations was fair in the English language subsample (ICC range=0.22–0.25), but substantial in the French language subsample (ICC range=0.60–0.82). The IM index showed substantial validity at both test and retest and in both languages (ICC range=0.61–0.80). Coefficients were generally lower when examining single destinations or mobility licenses. Conclusion With minor modifications, the child and parent mobility questionnaires can provide valid and reliable estimates of AT to/from a broad range of destinations and IM among English and French speaking grade 4–6 children.