Analysis of school commuting behavior differences based on China family panel studies

Abstract

School commuting is a crucial aspect of children's daily routines and family travel. The choice of school travel mode significantly impacts children's safety, convenience, and the optimization of urban transportation systems. Utilizing data from the 2020 China family panel studies (CFPS), this study employs a multinomial logit model to comprehensively analyze differences in factors such as individual characteristics, family attributes, school features and geographical characteristics in school travel mode selection. The results indicate that geographical factors have the greatest influence on school travel mode choice. Students in eastern China tend to prefer motorized transportation and bicycles; while students in western China are more inclined to walk; and those from the northeast region are more likely to choose motorized transportation and school buses. In rural communes and small cities, the use of electric bicycles is significantly higher than that in large and medium-sized cities. Moreover, the likelihood of using school buses is also higher in rural communes. Students attending private schools exhibit a significantly higher likelihood of using school buses than their counterparts attending public schools. Additionally, this study uncovers some influences of individual characteristics and family features. For example, overweight children tend to rely more on school buses and electric bikes. Gender does not show a significant effect on mode choice for school commuting.