| Literature DB >> 31921574 |
Eleftheria Kontou1, Noreen C McDonald1, Kristen Brookshire2, Nancy C Pullen-Seufert2, Seth LaJeunesse2.
Abstract
Active transportation to school (ATS), denoting walking and biking, is crucial to promote physical activity for youth. This study uses data from the 2017 National Household Travel Survey (NHTS) to report on the most recent and nationally representative school transportation patterns. Binary logit modeling determines significant factors associated with school travel mode choices. Spatial differences on school mode choices across the US are explored. In 2017 9.6% of the students of 5-17 years old usually walked and 1.1% biked to school. For students who usually walk to school, 77.5% of their school trips were less than one mile and, among usual bikers to school, 82.8% of trips were less than two miles. Student rates of walking to school decreased as the distance to school increased and biking rates peaked when distance to school was between 0.5 and 1 miles. When distance to school was <0.5 miles, walking was the most common mode for urban and rural regions. When the trip was shorter than or equal to one mile, factors such child's school grade, household vehicles per driver, and household income were associated with the decision to walk or bike to school. Other demographic characteristics like race and gender were not significantly related to ATS. While comparison across NHTS years should be viewed with caution due to changes in survey methodology, the decline of ATS rates indicate that more effective and higher reaching efforts for local, regional, and national interventions should be prioritized.Entities:
Keywords: ATS, active transportation to school; Active transportation; Bicycling; CBSA, Core-Based Statistical Area; Children; Mode choice; NHTS, National Highway Travel Survey; SRTS, Safe Routes to School; School travel; Walking
Year: 2019 PMID: 31921574 PMCID: PMC6948264 DOI: 10.1016/j.pmedr.2019.101024
Source DB: PubMed Journal: Prev Med Rep ISSN: 2211-3355
2017 NHTS summary statistics for school travel, unweighted %
| Usual Travel Mode to School | Survey-day Travel Mode to School | |
|---|---|---|
| 30,064 | 17,766 | |
| 11.1 | 11.5 | |
| 6.9 | 4.8 | |
| n.a. | 17.9 | |
| Elementary (5–11 years old) | 52.7% | 48.9% |
| Middle (12–14 years old) | 24.3% | 23.1% |
| High (15–17 years old) | 23.0% | 28.0% |
| Female | 48.7% | 48.8% |
| Male | 51.3% | 51.2% |
| Non-Hispanic white | 62.5% | 68.4% |
| Non-Hispanic black | 8.8% | 8.9% |
| Hispanic/Latino | 16.0% | 12.1% |
| Other | 12.7% | 10.6% |
| 0–35,000 | 19.4% | 19.0% |
| 35,000–75,000 | 24.6% | 24.5% |
| 75,000–125,000 | 27.9% | 27.6% |
| >125,000 | 28.1% | 28.9% |
| Zero Vehicle | 2.1% | 1.9% |
| 1 Vehicle | 16.5% | 16.0% |
| 2 Vehicles | 46.4% | 44.5% |
| ≥3 Vehicles | 35.1% | 37.5% |
| Own | 75.8% | 76.0% |
| Rent | 23.5% | 23.2% |
| Other/Missing | 0.7% | 0.9% |
| Residence’s Census Block Population Density | ||
| 0–500 persons per sq. mile | 27.1% | 26.9% |
| 500–1,000 persons per sq. mile | 9.3% | 9.2% |
| 1,000–3,999 persons per sq. mile | 33.2% | 33.8% |
| 4,000–9,999 persons per sq. mile | 24.1% | 24.0% |
| ≥10,000 persons per sq. mile | 6.3% | 6.0% |
| Missing | 0.6% | 0.06% |
| 77.9% | 79.5% | |
| 19.1% | 19.5% |
Usual mode to school by school grade (elementary, middle, high, and all), weighted %
| Mode | Elementary (5–11 yo) | Middle (12–14 yo) | High (15–17 yo) | All (5–17 yo) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Auto | 51.6 | 41.8 | 56.2 | 50.2 |
| Walk | 10.0 | 9.9 | 8.0 | 9.6 |
| Bike | 0.9 | 1.8 | 0.8 | 1.1 |
| School Bus | 36.4 | 43.4 | 29.4 | 36.6 |
| Other | 1.1 | 3.1 | 5.6 | 2.5 |
| 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 |
Note: yo stands for years old.
Fig. 1Distribution of usual mode choice across urban/rural and distance to school categories, weighted %
Variation of usual AST percentage across CBSAs in the U.S., weighted %
| Core-Based Statistical Area (CBSA) | Sample Size [5–17 age sample (5–17 age population)] | Walk % | Bike % |
|---|---|---|---|
| Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA | 761 (935,798) | 4.36 | 0.26 |
| Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN-WI | 244 (1,327,359) | 10.67 | 2.37 |
| Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX | 2,518 (1,256,491) | 7.58 | 1.59 |
| Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land, TX | 1,400 (1,134,623) | 5.58 | 2.69 |
| Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA | 719 (1,688,869) | 17.32 | 1.75 |
| New York-Newark- Jersey City, NY-NJ-PA | 1,350 (2,709,044) | 11.40 | 0.21 |
| San Diego-Carlsbad, CA | 595 (554,096) | 15.50 | 1.47 |
| San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward, CA | 526 (744,379) | 15.41 | 5.32 |
Fig. 2Factors associated with probability of usual and survey-day ATS for trips less than or equal to one mile. Reference categories of the independent variables included are indicated as follows: Distance to School [0,0.25], Gender female, School Grade elementary, Vehicle per Driver 1veh/driver, Household Income 35,000, Pop. Density 500.
Appendix Fig. 1Distribution across income categories for each mode to school use on usual day, weighted %.
| Distance to school | HH Income | House Owner | Other race | Non-Hispanic Black | Vehicles per Driver | Population Density | ATS | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Distance to school | 1 | 0.0399 | 0.0761 | −0.0603 | 0.0193 | 0.0657 | −0.2714 | −0.495 |
| HH Income | 0.0399 | 1 | 0.439 | −0.0408 | −0.2288 | 0.2004 | 0.0061 | −0.0089 |
| House Owner | 0.0761 | 0.439 | 1 | −0.0558 | −0.2385 | 0.2231 | −0.171 | −0.0771 |
| Other race | −0.0603 | −0.0408 | −0.0558 | 1 | −0.148 | −0.0433 | 0.1493 | 0.0476 |
| Non-Hispanic Black | 0.0193 | −0.2288 | −0.2385 | −0.148 | 1 | −0.1017 | 0.069 | −0.0041 |
| Vehicles per Driver | 0.0657 | 0.2004 | 0.2231 | −0.0433 | −0.1017 | 1 | −0.1547 | −0.0821 |
| Population Density | −0.2714 | 0.0061 | −0.171 | 0.1493 | 0.069 | −0.1547 | 1 | 0.1933 |
| ATS | −0.495 | −0.0089 | −0.0771 | 0.0476 | −0.0041 | −0.0821 | 0.1933 | 1 |
| Mode | Elementary (5–11) | Middle (12–14) | High (15–17) | All (5–17) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Auto | 54.0 | 48.0 | 62.5 | 55.0 |
| Walk | 9.6 | 9.4 | 11.6 | 10.1 |
| Bike | 0.6 | 1.7 | 0.7 | 0.9 |
| School Bus | 34.6 | 38.7 | 10.3 | 31.5 |
| Other | 1.2 | 2.2 | 5.0 | 2.5 |
| 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 |
| Miles to School | Auto | Walk | Bike | School Bus | Other | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| <0.25 | 11.9 | 81.9 | 0.4 | 5.1 | 0.7 | 100 |
| 0.25–0.5 | 32.0 | 58.6 | 1.1 | 7.9 | 0.4 | 100 |
| 0.5–1.0 | 55.5 | 22.8 | 2.7 | 17.5 | 1.5 | 100 |
| 1.0–2.0 | 58.3 | 5.9 | 1.0 | 32.7 | 2.1 | 100 |
| >2.0 | 58.0 | 0.8 | 0.4 | 37.7 | 3.1 | 100 |
| Usual Day Travel ( | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Independent Variable | OR | p-value | 95% CI |
| Distance to school | |||
| 0–0.25 | reference | ||
| 0.25–0.5 | 0.266 | <0.0001* | 0.213–0.332 |
| 0.5–1 | 0.092 | <0.0001* | 0.074–0.114 |
| 1.121 | 0.0591 | 0.995–1.262 | |
| Elementary (5–11) | reference | ||
| Middle (12–14) | 2.06 | <0.0001* | 1.756–2.419 |
| High (15–17) | 1.969 | <0.0001* | 1.626–2.385 |
| 0.915 | 0.4537 | 0.725–1.153 | |
| 0.824 | 0.0315 | 0.695–0.977 | |
| 0.989 | 0.8899 | 0.854–1.147 | |
| Zeros Vehicles | 3.214 | <0.0001* | 2.285–4.520 |
| <1 vehicle per driver | 1.361 | 0.0015 | 1.123–1.649 |
| 1 vehicle per driver | reference | ||
| >1 vehicle per driver | 0.839 | 0.0265 | 0.718–0.979 |
| 0–35,000 | reference | ||
| 35,000–75,000 | 1.155 | 0.1388 | 0.954–1.398 |
| 75,000–125,000 | 1.377 | 0.0017 | 1.128–1.682 |
| >125000 | 1.729 | <0.0001* | 1.410–2.120 |
| 0.783 | 0.0019 | 0.671–0.914 | |
| 0–500 | reference | ||
| 500–1,000 | 0.878 | 0.445 | 0.629–1.225 |
| 1,000–3,999 | 1.687 | <0.0001* | 1.346–2.114 |
| 4,000–9,999 | 2.278 | <0.0001* | 1.821–2.849 |
| ≥10,000 | 3.496 | <0.0001* | 2.659–4.600 |
| 5,732 | |||
| −3,242.09 | |||
| 0.1331 | |||
Note: * p < 0.001 (indicating significance); OR, odds ratio; CI, confidence interval.
| Survey-Day Travel ( | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Independent Variable | OR | p-value | 95% CI |
| Distance to school | |||
| 0–0.25 | reference | ||
| 0.25–0.5 | 0.300 | <0.0001* | 0.226–0.398 |
| 0.5–1 | 0.091 | <0.0001* | 0.069–0.120 |
| 1.204 | 0.0193 | 1.030–1.405 | |
| Elementary (5–11) | reference | ||
| Middle (12–14) | 1.643 | <0.0001* | 1.334–2.203 |
| High (15–17) | 3.325 | <0.0001* | 2.696–4.099 |
| 0.813 | 0.2101 | 0.589–1.123 | |
| 0.827 | 0.1082 | 0.657–1.042 | |
| 0.995 | 0.9662 | 0.805–1.231 | |
| Zeros Vehicles | 3.573 | <0.0001* | 2.171–5.879 |
| <1 vehicle per driver | 1.254 | 0.0674 | 0.984–1.597 |
| 1 vehicle per driver | reference | ||
| >1 vehicle per driver | 0.888 | 0.2431 | 0.729–1.083 |
| 0–35,000 | reference | ||
| 35,000–75,000 | 0.933 | 0.5929 | 0.727–1.200 |
| 75,000–125,000 | 1.081 | 0.5649 | 0.829–1.409 |
| >125000 | 1.664 | 0.0002* | 1.273–2.176 |
| 0.730 | 0.0024 | 0.597–0.895 | |
| 0–500 | reference | ||
| 500–1,000 | 0.7416 | 0.1532 | 0.492–1.118 |
| 1,000–3,999 | 1.6493 | 0.0002* | 1.264–2.151 |
| 4,000–9,999 | 2.2278 | <0.0001* | 1.707–2.907 |
| ≥10,000 | 3.8369 | <0.0001* | 2.724–5.404 |
| 3,461 | |||
| −1,911.73 | |||
| 0.1618 | |||
Note: * p < 0.001 (indicating significance); OR, odds ratio; CI, confidence interval.