Determinants of car travel on daily journeys to school: cross sectional survey of primary school children

Abstract

The annual distance walked by children has fallen 28% since 1972, partly because car travel has replaced walking on many school journeys.1 Increasing car use has been linked with obesity, adverse health effects in later life, limitations on children's independence, traffic congestion, and pollution. 2 3 To inform the development of strategies to reduce school related car travel, we surveyed the travel patterns of urban primary school children. The survey was conducted in the inner London boroughs of Camden and Islington. The questionnaire—based partly on published surveys 4 5 and prepared in English, Bengali, Turkish, Greek, and Cantonese (first languages of 85% of eligible pupils)—asked about that day's school journey, children's independent travel, and parental concerns. From the sampling frame of all primary schools (excluding pilot, boarding, and special schools), 31 of the 100 eligible schools were randomly selected. We weighted sampling probability by combined class sizes in year 2 (ages 6-7 years) and year …