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Parental chauffeurs: what drives their transport choice?

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  • Carver, Alison
  • Timperio, Anna
  • Crawford, David

Abstract

Despite the widely acknowledged health benefits of active transport (e.g. walking/cycling), many parents drive their children to/from school and to other local destinations. We aimed to explore the prevalence, reported reasons and socio-demographic correlates of these behaviours. Using surveys of 430 primary and 258 secondary schoolchildren and their parents, we examined whether parents drove their child home from school and to local destinations within walking distance. We found a third of the sample, in particular around half of all primary schoolchildren, were driven home from school. Most children usually had parental accompaniment on local trips and were almost always driven. Using regression analyses we examined which of the following were associated with these behaviours: distance (to school); social trust; concern about injury while crossing a road; urban/rural location; attending primary/secondary school; sex, age of child; at least one parent not being employed full-time; household car access. In the analysis social trust and concern about injury were prominent explanatory variables. The results suggest public policy interventions that aim to improve road safety, increase community connectedness and build social trust may be important to encourage active transport for children.

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  • Carver, Alison & Timperio, Anna & Crawford, David, 2013. "Parental chauffeurs: what drives their transport choice?," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 26(C), pages 72-77.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:jotrge:v:26:y:2013:i:c:p:72-77
    DOI: 10.1016/j.jtrangeo.2012.08.017
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    5. Greg Rybarczyk & Ayse Ozbil & Demet Yesiltepe & Gorsev Argin, 2023. "Walking alone or walking together: A spatial evaluation of children’s travel behavior to school," Environment and Planning B, , vol. 50(9), pages 2560-2578, November.
    6. Curtis, Carey & Babb, Courtney & Olaru, Doina, 2015. "Built environment and children's travel to school," Transport Policy, Elsevier, vol. 42(C), pages 21-33.
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    8. Milad Mehdizadeh & Trond Nordfjaern & AmirReza Mamdoohi, 2018. "The role of socio-economic, built environment and psychological factors in parental mode choice for their children in an Iranian setting," Transportation, Springer, vol. 45(2), pages 523-543, March.
    9. Li, Man & Wang, Yupeng & Zhou, Dian, 2023. "Effects of the built environment and sociodemographic characteristics on Children's school travel," Transport Policy, Elsevier, vol. 134(C), pages 191-202.
    10. Ermagun, Alireza & Levinson, David, 2016. "Intra-household bargaining for school trip accompaniment of children: A group decision approach," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 94(C), pages 222-234.
    11. Sheng, Lu & Wu, Xiao & He, Yan, 2023. "Impact of residential relocation on activity-travel behaviors between household couples: A case study of Kunming, China," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 174(C).
    12. Rodrigue, Lancelot & El-Geneidy, Ahmed & Manaugh, Kevin, 2024. "Sociodemographic matters: Analyzing interactions of individuals' characteristics with walkability when modelling walking behavior," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 114(C).
    13. Ikeda, Erika & Mavoa, Suzanne & Hinckson, Erica & Witten, Karen & Donnellan, Niamh & Smith, Melody, 2018. "Differences in child-drawn and GIS-modelled routes to school: Impact on space and exposure to the built environment in Auckland, New Zealand," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 71(C), pages 103-115.
    14. Motta Queiroz, Mariza & Roque, Carlos & Moura, Filipe & Marôco, João, 2024. "Understanding the expectations of parents regarding their children's school commuting by public transport using latent Dirichlet Allocation," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 181(C).
    15. Craig, Lyn & van Tienoven, Theun Pieter, 2019. "Gender, mobility and parental shares of daily travel with and for children: a cross-national time use comparison," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 76(C), pages 93-102.
    16. Stylianos Kolidakis & Kornilia Maria Kotoula & George Botzoris & Petros Fotios Kamberi & Dimitrios Skoutas, 2024. "Assessing Impact Factors That Affect School Mobility Utilizing a Machine Learning Approach," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 16(2), pages 1-31, January.
    17. M. J. Aranda-Balboa & F. J. Huertas-Delgado & M. Herrador-Colmenero & G. Cardon & P. Chillón, 2020. "Parental barriers to active transport to school: a systematic review," International Journal of Public Health, Springer;Swiss School of Public Health (SSPH+), vol. 65(1), pages 87-98, January.
    18. Sovacool, Benjamin K. & Kester, Johannes & Heida, Vimke, 2019. "Cars and kids: Childhood perceptions of electric vehicles and sustainable transport in Denmark and the Netherlands," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 144(C), pages 182-192.
    19. Scheiner, Joachim & Huber, Oliver & Lohmüller, Stefan, 2019. "Children's independent travel to and from primary school: Evidence from a suburban town in Germany," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 120(C), pages 116-131.
    20. Alireza Ermagun & David Levinson, 2015. "Intra-household Bargaining for School Trip Accompaniment of Children: A Group Decision Approach with Altruism," Working Papers 000131, University of Minnesota: Nexus Research Group.
    21. Rotaris, Lucia & Del Missier, Fabio & Scorrano, Mariangela, 2023. "Comparing children and parental preferences for active commuting to school. A focus on Italian middle-school students," Research in Transportation Economics, Elsevier, vol. 97(C).
    22. Scheiner, Joachim, 2016. "School trips in Germany: Gendered escorting practices," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 94(C), pages 76-92.
    23. Lydia G. Emm-Collison & Sarah Lewis & Thomas Reid & Joe Matthews & Simon J. Sebire & Janice L. Thompson & Ruth Salway & Russell Jago, 2019. "Striking a Balance: Physical Activity, Screen-Viewing and Homework during the Transition to Secondary School," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 16(17), pages 1-17, August.

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