IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/transa/v124y2019icp468-487.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Exploring parental perceptions about school travel and walking school buses: A thematic analysis approach

Author

Listed:
  • Nikitas, Alexandros
  • Wang, Judith Y.T.
  • Knamiller, Cathy

Abstract

Establishing a less car-oriented mobility ethos through initiatives targeting, among others, children’s travel to school could be a key for unlocking the potential for a more sustainable future. A Walking School Bus (WSB) is a relatively new and scarcely evaluated commuting mechanism that in theory provides a creative scheme capable of inspiring voluntary travel behaviour change for children and parents. Through a series of in-depth focus group sessions that were conducted in Bradford, UK this article explores the perceptions of parents that are ultimately the decision-makers about how their children go to school. This work improves the understanding of the different challenges and opportunities underpinning travel to school, in general, and WSBs, in particular, by identifying and discussing six thematic areas of critical importance that explain the decision-making behind potential WSB uptake. These are namely: logistics, safety, trust, health and wellbeing, emotional needs and educational opportunities. Finally, the paper provides policy recommendations about how WSB initiatives can become more effective and attractive mobility tools for local communities.

Suggested Citation

  • Nikitas, Alexandros & Wang, Judith Y.T. & Knamiller, Cathy, 2019. "Exploring parental perceptions about school travel and walking school buses: A thematic analysis approach," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 124(C), pages 468-487.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:transa:v:124:y:2019:i:c:p:468-487
    DOI: 10.1016/j.tra.2019.04.011
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0965856418315751
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.tra.2019.04.011?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Mojtaba Vaismoradi & Hannele Turunen & Terese Bondas, 2013. "Content analysis and thematic analysis: Implications for conducting a qualitative descriptive study," Nursing & Health Sciences, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 15(3), pages 398-405, September.
    2. Raktim Mitra, 2013. "Independent Mobility and Mode Choice for School Transportation: A Review and Framework for Future Research," Transport Reviews, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 33(1), pages 21-43, January.
    3. Ermagun, Alireza & Samimi, Amir, 2015. "Promoting active transportation modes in school trips," Transport Policy, Elsevier, vol. 37(C), pages 203-211.
    4. Pojani, Dorina & Boussauw, Kobe, 2014. "Keep the children walking: active school travel in Tirana, Albania," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 38(C), pages 55-65.
    5. Yang, Y. & Diez-Roux, A. & Evenson, K.R. & Colabianchi, N., 2014. "Examining the impact of thewalking school buswith an agent-based model," American Journal of Public Health, American Public Health Association, vol. 104(7), pages 1196-1203.
    6. Jensen, Søren Underlien, 2008. "How to obtain a healthy journey to school," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 42(3), pages 475-486, March.
    7. Tien Ming Lee & Ezra M. Markowitz & Peter D. Howe & Chia-Ying Ko & Anthony A. Leiserowitz, 2015. "Predictors of public climate change awareness and risk perception around the world," Nature Climate Change, Nature, vol. 5(11), pages 1014-1020, November.
    8. McDonald, Noreen C., 2008. "Household interactions and children’s school travel: the effect of parental work patterns on walking and biking to school," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 16(5), pages 324-331.
    9. Kingham, Simon & Ussher, Shannon, 2005. "Ticket to a sustainable future: An evaluation of the long-term durability of the Walking School Bus programme in Christchurch, New Zealand," Transport Policy, Elsevier, vol. 12(4), pages 314-323, July.
    10. Dimitris Potoglou & Botakoz Arslangulova, 2017. "Factors influencing active travel to primary and secondary schools in Wales," Transportation Planning and Technology, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 40(1), pages 80-99, January.
    11. Easton, Sue & Ferrari, Ed, 2015. "Children's travel to school—the interaction of individual, neighbourhood and school factors," Transport Policy, Elsevier, vol. 44(C), pages 9-18.
    12. Leyden, K.M., 2003. "Social Capital and the Built Environment: The Importance of Walkable Neighborhoods," American Journal of Public Health, American Public Health Association, vol. 93(9), pages 1546-1551.
    13. Kelly, J. Andrew & Fu, Miao, 2014. "Sustainable school commuting – understanding choices and identifying opportunities," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 34(C), pages 221-230.
    14. Alexandros Nikitas & Erel Avineri & Graham Parkhurst, 2010. "Older people's attitudes to road charging: are they distinctive and what are the implications for policy?," Transportation Planning and Technology, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 34(1), pages 87-108, October.
    15. Curtis, Carey & Babb, Courtney & Olaru, Doina, 2015. "Built environment and children's travel to school," Transport Policy, Elsevier, vol. 42(C), pages 21-33.
    16. Kingham, Simon & Ussher, Shannon, 2007. "An assessment of the benefits of the walking school bus in Christchurch, New Zealand," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 41(6), pages 502-510, July.
    17. Sovacool, Benjamin K. & Axsen, Jonn, 2018. "Functional, symbolic and societal frames for automobility: Implications for sustainability transitions," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 118(C), pages 730-746.
    18. Broberg, Anna & Sarjala, Satu, 2015. "School travel mode choice and the characteristics of the urban built environment: The case of Helsinki, Finland," Transport Policy, Elsevier, vol. 37(C), pages 1-10.
    19. Farber, Steven & Mifsud, Anika & Allen, Jeff & Widener, Michael J. & Newbold, K. Bruce & Moniruzzaman, Md, 2018. "Transportation barriers to Syrian newcomer participation and settlement in Durham Region," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 68(C), pages 181-192.
    20. Fyhri, Aslak & Hjorthol, Randi & Mackett, Roger L. & Fotel, Trine Nordgaard & Kyttä, Marketta, 2011. "Children's active travel and independent mobility in four countries: Development, social contributing trends and measures," Transport Policy, Elsevier, vol. 18(5), pages 703-710, September.
    21. Collins, Damian & Kearns, Robin A., 2010. "Walking school buses in the Auckland region: A longitudinal assessment," Transport Policy, Elsevier, vol. 17(1), pages 1-8, January.
    22. Gössling, Stefan & Cohen, Scott Allen & Hares, Andrew, 2016. "Inside the black box: EU policy officers' perspectives on transport and climate change mitigation," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 57(C), pages 83-93.
    23. Hsin-Ping Hsu & Jean-Daniel Saphores, 2014. "Impacts of parental gender and attitudes on children’s school travel mode and parental chauffeuring behavior: results for California based on the 2009 National Household Travel Survey," Transportation, Springer, vol. 41(3), pages 543-565, May.
    24. Alexandros Nikitas & Eric Tchouamou Njoya & Samir Dani, 2019. "Examining the myths of connected and autonomous vehicles: analysing the pathway to a driverless mobility paradigm," International Journal of Automotive Technology and Management, Inderscience Enterprises Ltd, vol. 19(1/2), pages 10-30.
    25. Nick Pidgeon, 2012. "Public understanding of, and attitudes to, climate change: UK and international perspectives and policy," Climate Policy, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 12(sup01), pages 85-106, September.
    26. J. Lelieveld & J. S. Evans & M. Fnais & D. Giannadaki & A. Pozzer, 2015. "The contribution of outdoor air pollution sources to premature mortality on a global scale," Nature, Nature, vol. 525(7569), pages 367-371, September.
    27. Collins, Damian C. A. & Kearns, Robin A., 2005. "Geographies of inequality: Child pedestrian injury and walking school buses in Auckland, New Zealand," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 60(1), pages 61-69, January.
    28. Hafner, Rebecca J. & Walker, Ian & Verplanken, Bas, 2017. "Image, not environmentalism: A qualitative exploration of factors influencing vehicle purchasing decisions," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 97(C), pages 89-105.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Shi, Hui & Su, Rongxiang & Xiao, Jingyi & Goulias, Konstadinos G., 2022. "Spatiotemporal analysis of activity-travel fragmentation based on spatial clustering and sequence analysis," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 102(C).
    2. Alexandros Nikitas, 2019. "How to Save Bike-Sharing: An Evidence-Based Survival Toolkit for Policy-Makers and Mobility Providers," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(11), pages 1-17, June.
    3. Buliung, Ron & Bilas, Patrick & Ross, Timothy & Marmureanu, Cosmin & El-Geneidy, Ahmed, 2021. "More than just a bus trip: School busing, disability and access to education in Toronto, Canada," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 148(C), pages 496-505.
    4. Maite Adames Torres & Hye Won Oh & Jeongwoo Lee, 2022. "The Built Environment and Children’s Active Commuting to School: A Case Study of San Pedro De Macoris, the Dominican Republic," Land, MDPI, vol. 11(9), pages 1-19, September.
    5. Bartzokas-Tsiompras, Alexandros & Bakogiannis, Efthimios & Nikitas, Alexandros, 2023. "Global microscale walkability ratings and rankings: A novel composite indicator for 59 European city centres," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 111(C).
    6. Iria Lopez-Carreiro & Andres Monzon & Elena Lopez, 2023. "MaaS Implications in the Smart City: A Multi-Stakeholder Approach," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(14), pages 1-27, July.
    7. Ummay Fatema Urmi & Khalidur Rahman & Md Jamal Uddin & Mohammad Nayeem Hasan, 2022. "The Prevalence of Active Commuting to School and the Factors Influencing Mode Choice: A Study of University Students in a Secondary City of Bangladesh," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(24), pages 1-16, December.
    8. Maria Cieśla & Elżbieta Macioszek, 2022. "The Perspective Projects Promoting Sustainable Mobility by Active Travel to School on the Example of the Southern Poland Region," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(16), pages 1-18, August.
    9. Christos Karolemeas & Stefanos Tsigdinos & Panagiotis G. Tzouras & Alexandros Nikitas & Efthimios Bakogiannis, 2021. "Determining Electric Vehicle Charging Station Location Suitability: A Qualitative Study of Greek Stakeholders Employing Thematic Analysis and Analytical Hierarchy Process," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(4), pages 1-21, February.
    10. Thomas V. Vasey & Suzanne J. Carroll & Mark Daniel & Margaret Cargo, 2022. "Changing Primary School Children’s Engagement in Active School Travel Using Safe Routes to School Interventions: A Rapid Realist Review," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(16), pages 1-29, August.
    11. Humberto, Mateus & Moura, Filipe & Giannotti, Mariana, 2021. "Can outdoor activities and inquiry sessions change the travel behavior of children and their caregivers? Empirical research in public preschools in São Paulo (Brazil)," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 90(C).
    12. 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).
    13. Agyeman, Stephen & Cheng, Lin, 2020. "Analysis of barriers to perceived service quality in Ghana: Students’ perspectives on bus mobility attributes," Transport Policy, Elsevier, vol. 99(C), pages 63-85.
    14. Ho Yeung Lam & Sisitha Jayasinghe & Kiran D. K. Ahuja & Andrew P. Hills, 2023. "Active School Commuting in School Children: A Narrative Review of Current Evidence and Future Research Implications," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 20(20), pages 1-20, October.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Xiaofeng Ji & Haotian Guan & Mengyuan Lu & Fang Chen & Wenwen Qin, 2022. "International Research Progress in School Travel and Behavior: A Literature Review and Bibliometric Analysis," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(14), pages 1-25, July.
    2. Saad AlQuhtani, 2023. "Factors Affecting Active Commuting to School in Sprawled Cities: The Case of Najran City, Saudi Arabia," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(12), pages 1-17, June.
    3. Pérez-Martín, P. & Pedrós, G. & Martínez-Jiménez, P. & Varo-Martínez, M., 2018. "Evaluation of a walking school bus service as an intervention for a modal shift at a primary school in Spain," Transport Policy, Elsevier, vol. 64(C), pages 1-9.
    4. Kelly, J. Andrew & Fu, Miao, 2014. "Sustainable school commuting – understanding choices and identifying opportunities," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 34(C), pages 221-230.
    5. Dias, Charitha & Abdullah, Muhammad & Lovreglio, Ruggiero & Sachchithanantham, Sumana & Rekatheeban, Markkandu & Sathyaprasad, I.M.S., 2022. "Exploring home-to-school trip mode choices in Kandy, Sri Lanka," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 99(C).
    6. Nguyen, Minh Hieu & Pojani, Dorina & Nguyen, Thanh Chuong & Ha, Thanh Tung, 2021. "The impact of Covid-19 on children's active travel to school in Vietnam," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 96(C).
    7. Zhang, Rui & Yao, Enjian & Liu, Zhili, 2017. "School travel mode choice in Beijing, China," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 62(C), pages 98-110.
    8. Scheiner, Joachim, 2016. "School trips in Germany: Gendered escorting practices," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 94(C), pages 76-92.
    9. Liu, Yang & Min, Shisheng & Shi, Zhuangbin & He, Mingwei, 2024. "Exploring students' choice of active travel to school in different spatial environments: A case study in a mountain city," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 115(C).
    10. Liu, Yang & Ji, Yanjie & Shi, Zhuangbin & He, Baohong & Liu, Qiyang, 2018. "Investigating the effect of the spatial relationship between home, workplace and school on parental chauffeurs’ daily travel mode choice," Transport Policy, Elsevier, vol. 69(C), pages 78-87.
    11. 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.
    12. Stark, Juliane & Frühwirth, Julia & Aschauer, Florian, 2018. "Exploring independent and active mobility in primary school children in Vienna," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 68(C), pages 31-41.
    13. Yang Liu & Yanjie Ji & Zhuangbin Shi & Liangpeng Gao, 2018. "The Influence of the Built Environment on School Children’s Metro Ridership: An Exploration Using Geographically Weighted Poisson Regression Models," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(12), pages 1-16, December.
    14. Dorji Wangzom & Marcus White & Jeni Paay, 2023. "Perceived Safety Influencing Active Travel to School—A Built Environment Perspective," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 20(2), pages 1-12, January.
    15. 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.
    16. Collins, Damian & Kearns, Robin A., 2010. "Walking school buses in the Auckland region: A longitudinal assessment," Transport Policy, Elsevier, vol. 17(1), pages 1-8, January.
    17. Mitra, Raktim & Buliung, Ron N., 2015. "Exploring differences in school travel mode choice behaviour between children and youth," Transport Policy, Elsevier, vol. 42(C), pages 4-11.
    18. Bilin Han & Jinhee Kim & Harry Timmermans, 2020. "Turn taking behavior in dual earner households with children: a focus on escorting routines," Transportation, Springer, vol. 47(1), pages 203-222, February.
    19. Schwanen, Tim & Banister, David & Anable, Jillian, 2012. "Rethinking habits and their role in behaviour change: the case of low-carbon mobility," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 24(C), pages 522-532.
    20. Chica-Olmo, Jorge & Rodríguez-López, Carlos & Chillón, Palma, 2018. "Effect of distance from home to school and spatial dependence between homes on mode of commuting to school," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 72(C), pages 1-12.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:transa:v:124:y:2019:i:c:p:468-487. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/wps/find/journaldescription.cws_home/547/description#description .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.