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Costs of school transportation: quantifying the fiscal impacts of encouraging walking and bicycling for school travel

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  • Noreen McDonald
  • Ruth Steiner
  • W. Palmer
  • Allison Bullock
  • Virginia Sisiopiku
  • Benjamin Lytle

Abstract

National governments have provided subsidies for investments in increasing the safety and attractiveness of walking and biking to school. Evaluations of Safe Routes to School initiatives have found that they have been effective at changing behavior and reducing injuries. However, there has been little attention to the impacts of these programs on pupil transportation costs. This analysis assesses the potential economic benefits of Safe Routes to School programs in the US context by estimating the annual costs of using motorized transport for short trips to schools, examining real-world examples of the costs savings of SRTS programs, and evaluating land use impacts on school transportation costs using a simulation analysis of school bus routes. We find that there is potential for school districts and families to reduce transport expenditures through public sector investments in walking and biking infrastructure near schools. We also find that land use context matters and the most cost-effective investments would benefit schools where large numbers of children live within walking distance. Copyright Springer Science+Business Media New York 2016

Suggested Citation

  • Noreen McDonald & Ruth Steiner & W. Palmer & Allison Bullock & Virginia Sisiopiku & Benjamin Lytle, 2016. "Costs of school transportation: quantifying the fiscal impacts of encouraging walking and bicycling for school travel," Transportation, Springer, vol. 43(1), pages 159-175, January.
    • Handle: RePEc:kap:transp:v:43:y:2016:i:1:p:159-175
    DOI: 10.1007/s11116-014-9569-7
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    3. Houde, Maxime & Apparicio, Philippe & Séguin, Anne-Marie, 2018. "A ride for whom: Has cycling network expansion reduced inequities in accessibility in Montreal, Canada?," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 68(C), pages 9-21.
    4. 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.
    5. Deanna M. Hoelscher & Leigh Ann Ganzar & Deborah Salvo & Harold W. Kohl & Adriana Pérez & Henry Shelton Brown & Sarah S. Bentley & Erin E. Dooley & Amir Emamian & Casey P. Durand, 2022. "Effects of Large-Scale Municipal Safe Routes to School Infrastructure on Student Active Travel and Physical Activity: Design, Methods, and Baseline Data of the Safe Travel Environment Evaluation in Te," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(3), pages 1-17, February.
    6. Scheiner, Joachim, 2016. "School trips in Germany: Gendered escorting practices," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 94(C), pages 76-92.

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