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

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

What Drives Them to Drive?—Parents' Reasons for Choosing the Car to Take Their Children to School

“…Specifically, we investigate the relationship between environmental and sociodemographic factors and car choice, but also address parents' stated reasons that tap into sense of security, convenience, and the opportunity to accompany the child. As described earlier, previous research into children and travel indicates that the travel mode decision is partly based on factors related to practicalities, safety concerns and the wish for social interaction (McMillan, 2007 ; McDonald et al, 2016 ; Ahern et al, 2017 ) and this study explore this further. This is important because the current increase in children's car travels is unsustainable from both an environmental and health point of view, primarily owing to that car travel produces greenhouse gases contributing to global climate change as well as foster less physical activity among schoolchildren.…”

“…To investigate how parental and child sociodemographics impact upon the choice of taking the car, we asked the parents to provide information about their children's age and gender as well as background questions (i.e., parental gender, academic degree, income, car ownership, and occupational status). Based on earlier research into parental travel mode choice (Johansson, 2006 ; McMillan, 2007 ; Stewart et al, 2012 ; McDonald et al, 2016 ; Ahern et al, 2017 ), a number of possible reasons for car choice were given. Thus, the parents stated their reasons for choosing the car on a five-point rating scale, ranging from disagree completely (1) to agree completely (5).…”

Active Travel of Czech and Polish Adolescents in Relation to Their Well-Being: Support for Physical Activity and Health

“…The practical reality is that negligence toward the AT environment is very difficult to address politically and is economically expensive. However, building safe routes to schools has not only a health and psychological impact, but also an economic effect, especially when a large portion of the student body live close to the school [67].…”

Enhancing safe routes to school programs through community-engaged citizen science: two pilot investigations in lower density areas of Santa Clara County, California, USA

“…However, in an educational climate of increasing fiscal constraints, finding efficient methods for building such collaborative partnerships can be difficult. This is despite reports that investments in programs and infrastructure that facilitate walking and biking to school have the potential for reducing transport expenditures for school districts and families [10].…”