Key takeaways:
- Children from families with lower incomes use active transportation to travel to school at higher rates than children from high-income families.
- Living farther away, at distances greater than ½ miles from school decreased the likelihood of walking and biking to school by 92 percent and from school by 89 percent.
- Attending a school with a high level of support for active transportation increases the chances of walking to school by 55 percent and from school by 48 percent.
- The likelihood of active transportation to travel to and from school was greater when children asked permission from their parents to walk or bike and parents perceived there was school support for active travel to school, such as a Safe Routes to School program in place.
- This study revealed that low-income individuals were more likely to use active transportation to travel to school. This travel behavior may reflect evidence of inequity, rather than choice, as families attending schools classified as low- or medium-income may have access to fewer resources, such as a dependable vehicle.
Methods:
- This study of Safe Routes to School programs in 112 Arizona schools determined which individual and school-level predictors, such as distance to and from school and income, are most significant in determining the likelihood of a student using active transportation to travel to and from school.
Implications:
- When a child’s school has a Safe Routes to School program, parents feel more encouraged and are more likely to let their child walk and bike to/from school.
- Safe Routes to School improvements should be prioritized in low-income neighborhoods where students are more likely to be walking and biking already.
Citation:
Ross, Alistair, and Jonathan M. Kurka. “Predictors of Active Transportation among Safe Routes to
School Participants in Arizona: Impacts of Distance and Income.” Journal of School Health 92, no. 3
(March 2022): 282–92. https://doi.org/10.1111/josh.13125.
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