A route to school informational intervention for air pollution exposure reduction

Abstract

Walking and cycling are promoted to encourage sustainable travel behavior among children and adults. School children during their travel episode to-and-from school are disproportionately exposed to air pollution due to multiple reasons such as proximity to high traffic roads and peak volumes. Regular use of less polluted routes to and from school can bring significant health benefits for school children. This paper presents a route to school informational intervention that was developed incorporating approaches and methods suggested in the literature for effective behavioral interventions. The intervention was implemented using escorting parents/guardians (N=104) of school children of Antwerp, Belgium to adopt school routes with least exposure to pollutants. Collected data and its analysis revealed that 60% participants (N= 62) could benefit themselves by adopting the suggested cleanest routes to school, of whom a significant proportion of participants (i.e. 34%, N= 35) have a difference of average NO2 concentration between the alternative and current route of around 10µg/m 3 . This information about alternatives routes with their potential benefits was presented to each participant via defined study protocols. Based on the feedback of participants that could potentially adopt suggested alternatives, 77% (N=48) have switched their routes. These results indicated that intervention was effective, and it can bring higher benefits when implemented on a wider scale.

School Commuting Mode Shift: A Scenario Analysis for Active School Commuting Using GIS and Online Map API

“…In the recent COVID-19 epidemic period, traffic restrictions due to the lockdown of many cities significantly reduced the use of motor vehicle, and the air quality has improved with a notable drop in PM2.5 levels detected [61,62]. Besides, the promotion of air quality is conducive to active school commuting [63], which in turn can reduce the use of motor vehicles. Additionally, in the COVID-19 era where travel is discouraged-notably by mass transit systems-to limit the spread of the disease, containing school travel within shorter distances could help limit exposure to the virus and its spread across larger areas.…”

Exploring the Relationship between Transport Interventions, Mode Choice, and Travel Perception: An Empirical Study in Beijing, China

“…In this study, two kinds of soft measures, information intervention and public transport service improvement, were selected as the transport intervention strategies. Information intervention in the transportation field was mainly implemented to promote and encourage pro-environmental travel behavior [12]. Knowledge was a prerequisite for the development of pro-environmental attitudes, which would further promote pro-environmental behavior [13].…”

A comparative study on travel mode share, emission, and safety in five Vietnamese Cities

“…For example, shared mobility intervention may promote reduced household vehicle ownership and increase the use of active transportation modes [ 36 ]. As a part of such interventions, providing pertinent information can further encourage people to choose an active travel mode [ 2 ]. In particular, access to information related to traffic conditions and fuel cost has been shown to impact mode share, energy saving and new car sales [ 5 , 6 , 45 ].…”