School Travel Planning Research Articles

Framing active school travel in Ontario, or how spinach is good for you

Active school travel (AST) is promoted in many jurisdictions, including Ontario, Canada, where there is provincial support for school travel planning (STP) efforts. Two pillars of school travel plans in the province are education and encouragement. For these pillars to stand, relevant stakeholders must be cognizant of and understand the issues and stakes. For this reason, we deem it important to understand how AST is communicated. In this research we adopt framing analysis to investigate the ways in which various organizations communicate to the public around AST. A frame is a central organizing idea or story line that provides meaning to a particular phenomenon, and thus helps to set the parameters for conversations about policy. In the case of AST, framing can influence what policy alternatives are perceived as available by children, parents, and their wider communities. The research is supported by natural language processing techniques applied to publicly available documents from Ontario stakeholders involved in school travel planning. We then compare the findings from these documents to a selection of academic studies on AST. We conclude that framing of AST in Ontario is mostly empirical-scientific in style, and largely in agreement with academic research on AST. However, it is essentially conservative and does not challenge the status quo of motorized travel. Furthermore, the frames tend to download responsibility for change to households, which limits the scope of policy alternatives by keeping collective action out of the frame.

The Perspective Projects Promoting Sustainable Mobility by Active Travel to School on the Example of the Southern Poland Region

The paper presents a discussion concerning the development of projects regarding active travel with the policy of sustainable mobility, with active school transport in southern Poland being taken into special consideration. The implementation of the idea of sustainable school travel planning involves linking several social groups, including traffic planners and organizers, school administrators, governments, parents, and children. This, in turn, requires considering the criteria reported by all parties when choosing a scenario for the region’s development in terms of transport solutions. The following study was based on the methodological foundations of multicriteria decision-making analysis. The research purpose of this paper is to identify and classify the actions, policies, and scenarios of active travel projects for the sustainable development of mobility based on the cities of southern Poland. The evaluation was carried out through expert methods with multicriteria decision-making tools based on the MULTIPOL (MULTI-criteria and POLicy) prospective analysis technique. It allowed for the selection of the most probable policy, which covered the six actions considered by the experts to be the most significant for the development of the active school transport system in the analyzed region. Such actions are as follows: identification of walking school bus routes, modernization of crosswalk lines, planning of walking and cycling routes to schools, promoting safety educational programs, distribution of active school transport booklets and cycling, and pedestrian skills training workshops. The paper presents a new method to evaluate the policies and actions regarding promoting sustainable (active) travel to school. The innovative approach results from assembling a mixed group of people (stakeholders) as experts. The mix of experts consisting of users (pupils and parents), practitioners, and scientist experts in this field allowed us to score policies, actions, and scenarios, enabling a wider spectrum of assessment than before.

Perceived Value, Inter-functional Coordination, and Strategic Adaptation: The Perspective on Selecting Travel Agencies from School Travel Plan

School travel plan (STP) is a significant tourism market for travel agencies; this study explores how travel agencies with customer orientation ability, product advantages, and high-quality service performance affect customer perceived value and the strategic adaptation of travel agencies from a resource-based view by moderating the effect of inter-functional coordination. Proportionate stratified sampling was used to select teachers and administrators from junior and high schools who participated in graduation trip selection for three years from Taiwan, and 183 samples were collected for analysis; likewise, PLS-SEM was adopted to verify the measurements and test hypotheses in the research. The scientific results indicate that travel agencies with customer orientation, product advantages, and high service performance positively impact customer perceived value. Inter-functional coordination has a moderating effect on customer perceived value and travel agency strategic adaptation. Travel agencies have customer-oriented characteristics that can clearly understand customers’ needs and prioritize them. Constantly reviewing customers’ needs and enhancing their perceived value can lead to increased sales volume in STP market. Effective communication and coordination are the critical effects of cooperation between travel agencies and other tourism industries, and travel agencies should quickly respond to schools and provide tourism products that meet STPs’ needs in Taiwan.

Improving School Travel Plan effectiveness through enhanced diagnostic tools

Issues around the journey to school are often in the news, and so are never far removed from the public and political consciousness. School Travel Plans (STPs) have been proven to reduce car use and their impacts around the world but are not aswidespread as they might be because of a perceived lack of knowledge about the potential outcomes of less common packages of measures and the associated lack of skills in delivering those solutions in specific contexts.Accordingly, this study develops and then applies a low-cost and risk-reducing approach which first determines existing travel behaviour within a school context, and then measures the responses of parents to a range of potential solutions (a proxy for their likely effectiveness) before they are adopted. It draws on results from an on-site traffic survey, an online survey of 746 parents and employees and an online stated preference survey of 101 parents from four independent schools in Loughborough, England.The study finds that parents are more influenced by the price of alternatives than the price of car (though this is still important), whilst measures that are relatively low-cost, uncontroversial and easy to implement (i.e. bus app, supervised walking and lockers) can also potentially be effective and should therefore be important components of any future STP package. It is also clear that the approach used could be transferable to other similar pre-project evaluation exercises, subject to minor tweaks to enable context-specific issues to be incorporated.

Promoting active school travel in elementary schools: A regional case study of the school travel planning intervention

IntroductionActive school travel (AST) can be a viable way to increase children's low levels of daily physical activity by promoting opportunities to walk and wheel. To promote AST in Canada, School Travel Plan (STP) programs have been implemented throughout the country. The STP program is a comprehensive 2-year intervention that is facilitated by a committee of community and school partners who implement education, encouragement, enforcement, and engineering initiatives at their school to support AST. MethodsThis study examines the impact of the STP program on children's and parents’ perceptions of AST barriers, and children's engagement in AST from pre- to post-intervention. In total, 13 elementary schools representing a total sample of 4720 parents and 2084 children from across Southwestern Ontario, Canada were involved in this program evaluation. ResultsFindings indicate that the STP program was successful in significantly reducing children's and parents’ perceptions of AST barriers. An analysis of travel behaviour found the STP program was limited in affecting behavioural change, as the results show an insignificant trend of increasing AST use and decreasing car use. ConclusionsChanging perceptions of AST barriers suggests that the STP intervention has the potential to change intentions and motivation for parents and children, which may lead to significant increases in future AST. This study recommends that future interventions focus on parental education and empowerment initiatives to reduce an apparent intention-behaviour gap that exists in their AST decision making process.

Supporting active school travel: A qualitative analysis of implementing a regional safe routes to school program

Physical inactivity among children is a significant public health concern. Active school travel (AST) methods, such as walking and wheeling to school, can be a valuable way to increase children's levels of daily physical activity. In Canada, Active and Safe Routes to School (ASRTS), a national health promotion initiative, has led the campaign for AST through its flagship school travel plan (STP) program. At present little is known about the on-the-ground implementation processes that impede or facilitate the success of STPs. Through a thematic analysis of 18 interviews with STP facilitators and 4 focus groups with the larger STP committees, our study evaluates the factors shaping the functioning of STP interventions at ten elementary schools participating in a regional ASRTS program in Southwestern Ontario. Our analysis yielded six themes that have implications for STP implementation and sustainability: 1) accounting for school context; 2) establishing committee capacity and leadership; 3) supporting STP action; 4) responsiveness to external and internal barriers; 5) engaging schools at the grassroots level; and 6) building future champions. We draw from Lewin's Field Theory and discuss the forces affecting STP committees to frame our findings in a way that can be discussed to support the building of efficient, effective, and viable AST intervention environments.

Making Kids Count ( breakout presentation )

Organizations across Canada are developing new strategies to collect and use data about school travel patterns and attitudes, which will improve the abilities of communities to identify and overcome barriers to active school travel. HASTe has evolved the standard Canadian School Travel Planning (STP) survey toolkit to help practitioners find meaningful correlations in transportation data and gain more insights into barriers to active and safe trips to school, and opportunities to overcome them. Our presentation will focus on 3 new methods currently in use in BC: The first is these development is in mapping. Employing the standard Canadian STP toolkit and open source GIS software, HASTe uses baseline survey data to create heat and cluster maps to help STP communities prioritize interventions and infrastructure investments. The second is the refinement of the survey tools. HASTe has evolved the standard Canadian STP take-home survey and data entry templates to automatically correlate independent elementary of the survey data set. The new template produces useful and presentable survey results for STP communities to help them better understand their schools’ transportation activities and barriers. The third is the development of a qualitative data coding system. HASTe has developed a simple template and method to allow STP communities to sort and code qualitative survey data, helping them turn input from the school community into actionable information that can inform the school travel planning and implementation process. This presentation will be of use to anyone looking to support and encourage more active school travel. HASTe has used freeware spreadsheet and GIS software to evolve tools available through a publicly available toolkit; the tools and methods are easily accessible and replicable by practitioners and community members.

It takes a Village: School Travel Planning Enhanced through a Comprehensive School Health Approach: Extending Lessons Beyond the School Community ( breakout presentation )

School Travel Planning (STP) is a comprehensive process designed to increase local ownership of Active and Safe Routes to school by engaging community stakeholders. When effectively coordinated, and implemented STP can result in positive school travel behaviour change, and ultimately provide substantial economic, environmental and physical activity benefits. Comprehensive School Health (CSH) is an internationally-recognized approach to supporting improvements in students’ educational outcomes while addressing school health in a planned, integrated, and holistic way. Actions address four distinct but interrelated components: (1) Social and Physical Environments includes the quality of the relationships between the school and surrounding community stakeholders, the emotional well-being of students and the buildings, grounds, play spaces and equipment in and around the school; (2) Teaching and Learning includes resources, activities and curriculum where students, or staff gain skills and knowledge related to health and wellness; (3) Policy includes management practices, decision-making processes, policies and procedures that promote and support health and wellness; (4) Partnerships and Services includes connections between schools, families, community organizations, the health sector and other sectors that support health. CSH can be used to improve many different health issues, including nutrition, physical activity, mental health, injury prevention, or even active transport. School communities are encouraged to apply actions in the 4 components using a community development process with six steps (2). This breakout session will highlight the many similarities in these two processes by lining up the 5-phase process of STP, with the 6-step community development process of CSH, and discuss how lessons learned from CSH, and particularly through working within all four components can enhance STP. The presentation will highlight, how when combined these two approaches will work synergistically to support active transport in and around a school community. Additionally, lessons learned from both processes can be applied beyond the school communities in neighborhoods, and workplaces.

The Six E’s of Active School Travel: How Active and Safe Routes to School (ASRTS) Programs Across Canada Increase the Number of Children Walking to School Every Day ( breakout presentation )

In this ASRTS Canada collaborative presentation, three Active and Safe Routes to School (ASRTS) Programs from different regions of the country will discuss the various strategies they employ to increase the numbers of children engaged in sustainable, healthy school travel every day. The numbers of children who walk or bike to school on a daily basis has been in steep decline since the early 1980’s, with a nationwide average of less than 20% of Canadian schoolchildren regularly walking or biking to school in 2015, from a high of over 80 % in the 1970’s. This has resulted in vehicle congestion around schools, poor air quality due to the high volume of vehicles, increased injuries due to increased traffic, and poor health outcomes as children are increasingly driven short distances instead of exercising. Starting in Europe in the 1970’s, and adopted in Canada in the mid 1990’s, ASRTS programs across the country seek to improve the health of our population through daily exercise, cleaner air due to reduced vehicle emissions, and fewer injuries due to safer infrastructure and fewer vehicles on the roads. To do this, these programs have adopted many of the principles of the Safe Routes to School Partnership in the United States, that being the six E’s: Evaluation, Engineering, Events, Enforcement, Equity, and Encouragement. In Canada, our programs have focused much of our efforts on a process known as School Travel Planning, whereby local residents and the school community are active participants in identifying the barriers to Active Transportation in their community, provide input on ways to remove these barriers, and become engaged in seeking resolution to these issues on an ongoing basis. This presentation will discuss specific actions and programs employed to encourage Active School Travel, successes and failures, and lessons learned from these three ASRTS organizations in different regions of Canada. If you are interested in promoting healthy school travel in your community, we invite you to attend and share your stories with us as well, as we seek to make our children safer, healthier and happier.

Collaborative School Travel Solutions During Community Transitions ( breakout presentation )

Background New school builds, subdivision developments, infill projects, intensification projects and retro-fits all present the possibility for traffic confusion and transportation barriers. Typically, during construction, stakeholders from various groups work on different levels of knowledge and hold different expectations for the transition, which can leave students facing more dangerous routes than expected, or sitting on the bus for a lengthy ride when they live within a few minutes' walking distance; and both of these situations often result in increased single-vehicle traffic at the school site. Community transitions are often phased in over many months or years, during which communities learn traffic behaviours that are difficult to re-train. Description of Intervention In the Waterloo Region, School Travel Planning is collaboratively funded by two school boards and three municipalities. This model presents a great opportunity to pull together developers; school, municipal and regional transportation + land-use planners; engineers; police; principals; superintendents; crossing guard supervisors; and landscape architects (trails), to work together on an ongoing basis towards infrastructure solutions (both temporary and permanent) that manage traffic and ensure an optimized number of students have the opportunity to walk to school as new phases of development and sidewalks, roads, and trails are completed after opening. Outcomes This discussion will outline the transitional solutions created at three locations: (1) Riverside Elementary as a new build within a subdivision development, where temporary asphalt paths were placed to enable students to walk, and where a level II pedestrian crossover presented a need for education and development of new crossing guard tactics. (2) Chicopee Hills Elementary as a new build bordered by two regional roads currently without sidewalks and a marshy city park land. The school will open prior to residences and a commercial plaza planned along the property entrance and main route to the school. (3) Saginaw Road where plans to infill a golf course with single family dwellings will impact three area schools. Implications STP can optimize walkability during transitional phases of development from the moment a school is opened; which is especially important when subsequent phases take much longer than expected, or are never completed.

Improving the Pedestrian Experience Through Strategic Partnerships ( breakout presentation )

Background Prioritizing, not just accommodating, pedestrians and cyclists in York Region is a challenge. We have a diverse geography (e.g. a mix of rural / agricultural areas & urban centres and corridors), and spread out communities (e.g. we are nearly 3 times the size of Toronto). While most residents use the car as their primary mode of travel, we are all pedestrians first. By prioritizing the pedestrian experience, we can improve the travel experience for everyone. Description of Program To move beyond accommodation, York Region is pursuing strategic partnerships to prioritize the travel experience for pedestrians and cyclists. We are pursuing partnerships with: Local Area Municipalities to address sidewalk gaps and improve network connectivity; The Province to facilitate active transportation crossings of Provincial Highways; School boards to include school travel planning in York Region's Traffic Circulation at School Sites Guidelines; and Other departments and branches within York Region, including Data Analytics and Visualization to uncover new insights and develop innovative solutions; Capital Delivery to develop York Region design standards to reflect the need to build facilities for all ages and abilities for comfort, safety, and convenience; and Road Operations to develop maintenance standards for walking and cycling facilities. Lessons Learned Note: Much of this is currently underway, with the recent completion of York Region's 2016 Transportation Master Plan Update. An update will be provided on lessons learned to-date. Conclusion Prioritizing the travel experience for pedestrians and cyclists is a non-trivial task. While we are certainly not there yet (this will be a process), we can add to the conversation from our current pursuit of strategic partnerships, and share lessons learned along the way.

Going Where No Walking School Bus Has Gone Before: The Ottawa Experience ( breakout presentation )

With active school travel rates falling in Canada and elsewhere, the Walking School Bus (WSB) is often promoted as a potentially effective response that addresses an important barrier to walking to school: parental worries about their children walking alone. However, there are several significant barriers to starting and sustaining a traditional WSB including an overreliance on parent or community volunteers, a lack of coordination and support capacity, and risk management concerns. To address those barriers stakeholders involved in the Ottawa School Travel Planning Program came together in the fall of 2014 to launch a 12-week Walking School Bus pilot project at eight schools. It provided for WSB leaders who were screened, trained, insured, supervised and paid to walk children to school. The project also sought to measures attitudes about the WSB, demonstrate to school and community stakeholders how a well-supported daily WSB could increase the number of children walking to school, and identify the operational and financial requirements for a sustainable and successful program. The pilot project laid a solid foundation for what has evolved into an on-going WSB program operating on a daily basis at 13 schools. Registration and participation numbers have consistently increased on most routes and almost half of the children enrolled in the program were previously driven to school. This confirms that, when adequately supported, a WSB can generate significant shifts in the modal share for walking. The program is now administered and funded by a local school bussing agency. See http://www.ottawaschoolbus.ca/helpful-resources/wsb/. The Ottawa WSB experience represents two significant firsts in Canada: (1) Using paid vs. volunteer leaders to ensure a consistent, sustainable WSB service operating on a level playing field with crossing guards and school bus drivers; (2) Direct administrative and financial support from a school transportation authority whose mandate was previously restricted to motorized transport. It can serve as a best practice to be considered in other communities.

Challenges in Planning for Active and Sustainable School Transportation- Perspectives from Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area, Canada

Background Vehicular use for school journeys contribute to reduced levels of physical activity and social/ environmental interaction in school children, and present significant health concerns across the Western world. Automobile-dependence for these short daily trips is environmentally unsustainable and a major cause of congestion throughout local streets. Significant efforts have been made to enable active modes (e.g., walking and cycling) for travelling to/from school. For a policy or program to be effective, the engagement of many diverse stakeholders is imperative. Although important, the challenges faced by stakeholders relating to school travel remain largely understudied. This research addresses this gap by identifying key challenges that municipalities must navigate when developing and implementing active school travel-related programs and policy. Methods This research was undertaken as part of a larger project that explores potential for cross-jurisdictional coordination in school travel planning. A qualitative investigation was conducted in five municipalities that have implemented active and sustainable school transportation initiatives within the Greater Toronto and Hamilton Region, Canada. Recruitment was facilitated by Green Communities Canada, a not-for-profit organization that has extensive experience in working with these stakeholders. Seventeen participants took part in semi-structured interviews. Participants from various sectors, namely- land use planning, public health, school boards, not-for-profit groups, and law enforcement, were selected based on their level of involvement with current planning process. Results Thematic analysis of interview data revealed five distinct challenges that stakeholders confront, relating to Cross-Jurisdictional Planning, Parent Engagement, Data Collection and Availability, Involvement of Elected Officials, and the Multidisciplinary Nature of Stakeholder Groups. Further, this research identified the ways in which stakeholders have attempted to overcome challenges – offering insights into where additional resources, capacity-building, and improved planning procedures could be introduced. Conclusions This research begins to untangle the intricacies of integrating school travel programs into professional practice, investigating gaps in coordination and obstacles that hinder effective implementation. Identifying and overcoming these challenges are pivotal to the success of future innovative and collaborative transportation planning focusing on children’s health and wellbeing.

Perceived challenges and facilitators of active travel following implementation of the School Travel-Plan programme in New Zealand children and adolescents

Perceived challenges and facilitators of active travel following implementation of the School Travel-Plan programme in New Zealand children and adolescents

Active transportation to support diabetes prevention: Expanding school health promotion programming in an Indigenous community

BackgroundSchool-based physical activity (PA) interventions, including school active transportation (AT), provide opportunities to increase daily PA levels, improves fitness, and reduces risk of diseases, such as type 2 diabetes. Based on a community-identified need, the Kahnawake Schools Diabetes Prevention Project, within an Indigenous community, undertook school travel planning to contribute to PA programming for two elementary schools. MethodsUsing community-based participatory research, the Active & Safe Routes to School’s School Travel Planning (STP) process was undertaken in two schools with an STP-Committee comprised of community stakeholders and researchers. STP activities were adapted for local context including: school profile form, family survey, in-class travel survey, pedestrian-traffic observations, walkability checklist, and student mapping. ResultsSTP data were jointly collected, analyzed and interpreted by researchers and community. Traffic-pedestrian observations, walkability and parent surveys identified key pedestrian-traffic locations, helped develop safe/direct routes, and traffic calming strategies. In-class travel and mapping surveys identified a need and student desire to increase school AT. The STP-Committee translated findings into STP-action plans for two schools, which were implemented in 2014–2015 school year. ConclusionsCombining CBPR with STP merges community and researcher expertise. This project offered evidence-informed practice for active living promotions. Experience and findings could benefit Indigenous and non-Indigenous communities.

“Putting school travel on the map”: Facilitators and barriers to implementing school travel planning in Canada

Abstract Objective The objective of this study was to identify facilitators and barriers to effective School Travel Planning (STP) implementation. Methods Interviews were conducted with 34 Canadian STP facilitators. Participants were interviewed regarding: i) perceptions of STP success; ii) facilitators and barriers to effective STP implementation; and iii) recommendations for improving STP. A thematic analysis was used to inductively code and categorize data units into themes. Results Participants were predominantly female, worked within the health sector, and had implemented STP in the province of Ontario. All facilitators perceived STP to be successful although definitions of ‘success’ varied. Factors facilitating effective implementation included the well-designed STP model, collaboration between multidisciplinary stakeholders, and the facilitators׳ leadership role. Conversely, the lack of stakeholder involvement from principals, parents, and students, was identified as a barrier to effective implementation. However, the primary factor that hindered implementation was the lack of time given by funding organizations to implement STP. To observe more effective and sustainable STP interventions in Canada, the facilitators acknowledged the pressing need for multi-level government funding to develop supporting infrastructure for AST, fund facilitators, and implement policies to foster greater AST. Conclusion Overall, STP was considered successful in a variety of ways including increased awareness, rates of AST, multidisciplinary collaborations, and school-specific strategies to overcome AST barriers. The study points to a variety of factors affecting implementation. However, there was some evidence to suggest that the existing STP model is likely a short-term ‘band-aid’ solution to increase AST given the lack of time and sustained funding to support its implementation. Findings further call for greater investment in resources and capacity to support AST interventions like STP, particularly at the Canadian provincial and municipal levels.

A31 Perceived challenges and facilitators of active commuting following implementation of the School Travel Plan programme in New Zealand children and adolescents

Abstract Promoting active travel modes has the potential to improve health outcomes, enhance social capital, and reduce traffic related congestion whilst also providing economic benefits. With this focus in mind, Auckland׳s transport agency developed a series of School Travel Plan (STP) initiatives in Auckland schools as part of the Travel Wise for Schools programme. The initiative incorporated educational and promotional campaigns to promote carpooling and active transport, combined with the Walking School Bus, cycle training for students, parking restrictions, building of traffic calming measures, and improvement of roads and footpaths. The aim of the present study was to explore the perceived challenges and facilitators of active travel to and from school following implementation of the STP Programme through qualitative feedback from children and adolescents. Focus groups consisting of 4–6 children and 6–12 adolescents were conducted in 10 primary schools and three high schools respectively. The challenges and facilitators for children and adolescents focused primarily on intrapersonal, and interpersonal factors. The themes emerged were similar but for different contexts. Under the child factors category five main themes emerged: peers, enjoyment, safety, parent behaviour and health and fitness. The main themes for adolescents were: peers/enjoyment, driving licence, safety and health & engagement. Overall, children and adolescents preferred active modes from passive ones, understood the benefits of active travel and provided valuable suggestions which formed the basis of future plan implementation.

School travel planning in Canada: Identifying child, family, and school-level characteristics associated with travel mode shift from driving to active school travel

ObjectiveActive School Travel (AST) can significantly contribute to children׳s physical activity levels. The primary objective of this study was to evaluate a Canadian School Travel Planning (STP) intervention, by examining child, family, and school-level characteristics that are associated with mode shift from driving to AST one year post-intervention. A secondary objective was to highlight which STP strategies were deemed effective by parents of those children who switched travel modes to AST. MethodsSchools (n=103) across Canada participated between January 2010 and March 2012. STP committees implemented strategies to overcome school-specific AST barriers. Mode shift and child/family demographics were assessed by a retrospective, cross-sectional parental survey (n=7827) one year after STP implementation. School level demographics were collected from school administrators. Binomial regression models were applied to examine child, family, and school-level characteristics related to mode shift from driving to AST. ResultsApproximately 17% of the sample reported driving less at one-year follow-up both in the morning and afternoon periods. Among these, the majority switched to AST in the morning (n=1002) and afternoon periods (n=995). Results from the regression analyses showed that students in higher elementary grades, living less than 3km from school, attending urban and suburban schools, and attending schools situated in a medium income neighborhood were significantly more likely to change travel mode from driving to AST. Approximately 35% of parents reported that infrastructure improvements and safety education were the most effective STP strategies. ConclusionThe study findings highlight the potential of the STP process in Canada in promoting mode shift from driving to AST. The findings demonstrate STPs may be more effective in some locations where conditions are conducive to mode change. This should inform the development of STP school-selection criteria that may maximize already limited resources by recruiting schools most responsive to STP.

Happiness in motion: emotions, well-being, and active school travel.

A pan-Canadian School Travel Planning intervention promoted active school travel (AST). A novel component was exploring emotion, well-being, and travel mode framed by the concept of "sustainable happiness." Relationships between travel mode and emotions, parent perceptions of their child's travel mode on well-being, and factors related to parent perceptions were examined. Questionnaires were administered to families (N = 5423) from 76 elementary schools. Explanatory variables were demographics (age and sex), school travel measures (mode, distance, accompaniment by an adult, safety, and barriers), and emotions (parent and child). Outcomes examined parent perceived benefits of travel mode on dimensions of well-being (physical, emotional, community, and environmental). Descriptive statistics, chi-square tests and hierarchical regression were used. Parents and children who used AST reported more positive emotions versus passive travelers. Parents of active travelers reported stronger connections to dimensions of well-being. AST had the strongest association with parents' perceptions of their child's well-being, and positive emotions (parent and child) were also significantly related to well-being on the trip to school. As an additional potential benefit of AST, interventions should raise awareness of the positive emotional experiences for children and their parents. Future research should experimentally examine if AST causes these emotional benefits.

Active school travel: An evaluation of the Canadian school travel planning intervention

ObjectiveActive school travel (AST) may provide a significant source of physical activity for children although rates of AST are declining in many countries. The objective of this study was to evaluate the Canadian School Travel Planning (STP) intervention by examining changes in school travel mode and predictors of mode change. MethodsSchools (n=106) across Canada participated between January 2010 and March 2012. STP committees implemented school-specific strategies to increase active school transport (AST) which included educational strategies, activities and events, capital improvement projects and enforcement initiatives. Travel mode at each school was assessed by a hands-up survey and school travel plans were reviewed for content. ResultsComplete data were available for 53 schools. There was no increase in AST at follow-up after one year. There was variation in mode change between schools. Only season of data collection predicted a decrease in AST in the morning (B=−5.36, p<.05). ConclusionThis Canadian STP evaluation showed no change in AST after one year. There was evidence of some localized success at nearly half of the participating schools. More robust monitoring and evaluation are needed to examine STP effectiveness.