What's "quickest and easiest?": parental decision making about school trip mode

Abstract

BackgroundThe potential benefits of active school travel (AST) are widely recognized, yet there is consistent evidence of a systematic decline in the use of active modes of transportation to school since the middle part of the 20th century. This study explored parental accounts of the school travel mode choice decision-making process.MethodsThirty-seven parents of children (17 who walked; 20 who were driven) from four elementary schools in Toronto, Canada participated in semi-structured interviews. The schools varied with respect to walkability of the built environment and socio-economic status. Thematic analysis of interview transcripts identified a two-stage decision-making process.ResultsAn initial decision concerned the issue of escorting or chauffeuring a child to/from school. This decision appeared to be primarily influenced by concerns about traffic, the child's personal safety, and the child's maturity and cognitive ability regarding navigating his/her way to/from school safely. Following the escort decision, parents considered mode choice, typically selecting what they perceived to be the easiest and most convenient way to travel. The ascription of convenience to the various modes of transportation was influenced by perceptions of travel time and/or distance to/from school. Convenience became a particularly salient theme for parents who found it necessary to complete multi-activity trip chains.ConclusionsThe school travel mode choice decision process is complex. Future research and practice should continue to address safety concerns that are typically the focus of active school transport initiatives while addressing more explicitly the behavioural cost of competing mode choices.

School commuting: the relationship between energy consumption and urban form

“…Research studies have examined correlations between personal, family, social and environmental factors and children's active/independent commuting to and from school, mainly focusing on health and obesity. The main conclusions of these studies are that the likelihood of walking or cycling to school decreases as travel distance increases, but it is also correlated with the safety of routes and family time constraints (Dellinger and Staunton, 2002;Ewing et al, 2004;Faulkner et al, 2010;McDonald and Aalborg, 2009;McMillan, 2006;Mitra et al, 2010;Sjolie and Thuen, 2002;Timperio et al, 2006;Trapp et al, 2011;Yeung et al, 2008;Ziviani et al, 2004). Previous research has also identified parents' concerns about the absence of adult supervision, the age of the child and fears related to children being assaulted by strangers as primary barriers to active commuting to school.…”

“…Boys seem to be more likely to walk and especially to cycle to school (McDonald, 2012;McMillan et al, 2006). An emerging research topic not only concerns the qualitative work on parents' perceptions but also addresses children's perceptions of school travel and the built environment (Faulkner et al, 2010;Fusco et al, 2012;Line et al, 2010). Children are now considered ''active agents'' who are able to express their own needs about school travel (Fusco et al, 2012).…”

Usos de los medios de transporte y accesibilidad urbana. Un estudio de caso en el Área Metropolitana de Guadalajara, México.

“…En lo que respecta al acceso a los servicios educativos, buena parte de la literatura se centra en el estudio de los medios de transporte utilizados, y en la conveniencia de favorecer el transporte no motorizado como una forma de desarrollar hábitos saludables en los escolares (FAULKNER et al, 2010;MCDONALD et al, 2014). En ese sentido se ha estudiado los obstáculos que para la accesibilidad a la educación pueden imponer las distintas características del entorno, especialmente la existencia de carreteras y tráfico pesado en las inmediaciones de los planteles o las largas distancias existentes (BEJLERI et al, 2011;FITZPATRICK et al, 2012).…”

Assessing the health-related outcomes and correlates of active transportation in children and youth

“…Previous literature has shown that parent-perceived convenience is an important correlate of travel mode choices McDonald & Aalborg, 2009;McMillan, 2007;Panter et al, 2010a). For instance, Faulkner et al (2010) concluded that once parents have decided whether their child needs to be escorted to/from school, they choose the travel mode that they consider the quickest and most convenient.…”