Rethinking passive transport: Bus fare exemptions and young people's wellbeing

Jones, Alasdair; Steinbach, Rebecca; Roberts, Helen; Goodman, Anna; Green, John

doi:10.1016/j.healthplace.2012.01.003

Cited by 63 publications

(53 citation statements)

References 30 publications

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“…This study provides the important missing link between social climate and actual transit use in terms of choosing transit as the most preferred mode for work and leisure activities, as well as transit use frequency. Third, most prior studies concerned either adult transit users or the general population of transit users; however, the social climate has been shown to be especially important to young people (13). This study complements and extends these results with quantitative evidence from a large sample of young adults.…”

Section: Role Of Social Climate In Habitual Transit Use By Young Adulsupporting

confidence: 61%

“…Some findings have contradictory trends: on the one hand, talking with others is positively related to higher travel satisfaction (12), but, on the other hand, socializing with other passengers (i.e., meeting, talking, helping), although positively related to positive emotions, is not significantly related to travel satisfaction, overall value, or customer loyalty (6). In the case of young people, social interactions with other people are especially important because transit serves as a site for socializing with friends and peers and for anonymous encounters, and for navigating social interactions between younger and older generations (13).…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

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Role of Social Climate in Habitual Transit Use by Young Adults to Work and Leisure Activities

Salva

Sierra

Alanis

et al. 2015

Transportation Research Record

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As mobility has increasingly become a vehicle for producing meaning and culture, and public transport has traditionally formed a dense and diverse social climate in which social interactions habitually occur, assessing the relationship between social climate and transit use is extremely important, especially in the younger populations that will shape the future of transport systems. This study proposes a behavioral framework founded on the theory of planned behavior and the social climate model. The study presents a tailor-made, web-based survey and a structural equation model for analyzing transit use as a function of attitudes toward public transport, subjective norms, social ambience in public transport, travel independence and autonomy, family (house) rules, and perceived quality of service. This study focuses on transit systems in cities in North and South America that have a much higher public transport ridership, tighter design standards in terms of personal space, and a higher degree of informal social interaction than transit systems in Europe, where previous studies have been conducted. Estimation results from a structural equations model show that (a) transit use frequency is significantly related to the perceived behavioral control of using transit and the social climate; (b) attitudes, norms, and perceived behavioral control are associated with perceived service quality; (c) gender differences exist in the user experience and appreciation of the social climate in transit; and (d) the residential social climate is linked to the transit social climate.

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Section: Role Of Social Climate In Habitual Transit Use By Young Adulsupporting

confidence: 61%

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Role of Social Climate in Habitual Transit Use by Young Adults to Work and Leisure Activities

Salva

Sierra

Alanis

et al. 2015

Transportation Research Record

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“…Our qualitative data suggest that treating bus travel purely as a 'passive' mode, in contrast to 'active' modes of walking and cycling, may underestimate the amount of active travel undertaken. 160 Unlike reports from the USA, however, where public transport interventions may lead to significant increases in active transport, 56 in London (where private car use is low), there was no evidence of a beneficial effect. Indeed for cycling, rates had declined from a low base: young people have not shared the benefits of increased uptake of cycling in London seen for adults.…”

Section: Active Travel: Implications For Physical Exercisementioning

confidence: 79%

On the buses: a mixed-method evaluation of the impact of free bus travel for young people on the public health

Green

Steinbach

Jones

et al. 2014

Public Health Research

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BackgroundIn September 2005 London introduced a policy granting young people aged < 17 years access to free bus and tram travel. A year later this policy was extended to people aged < 18 years in education, work or training. This intervention was part of a broader environmental strategy in London to reduce private car use, but its primary aim was to decrease ‘transport exclusion’, and ensure that access to goods, services, education and training opportunities were not denied to some young people because of transport poverty. However, there were also likely to be positive and negative health implications, which were difficult to assess in the absence of a robust evidence base on the impact of transport policies on health and well-being.ObjectivesTo evaluate the impact of free bus travel for young people in London on the public health. Specifically, to provide empirical evidence for the impact of this ‘natural experiment’ on health outcomes and behaviours (e.g. injuries, active travel) for young people; explore the effects on the determinants of health; identify the effects on older citizens of increased access to bus travel for young people and to identify whether or not the intervention represented value for money.DesignQuasi-experimental design, using secondary analysis of routine data, primary qualitative data and literature reviews.SettingLondon, UK.ParticipantsYoung people aged 12–17 years and older citizens aged ≥ 60 years.InterventionThe introduction of free bus travel for those aged < 17 years living in London in 2005, extended to those aged < 18 years in 2006.Main outcome measuresQuantitative: number of journeys to school or work; frequency and distance of active travel (i.e. walking and/or cycling), bus travel, car travel; incidence of road traffic injuries and assaults and socioeconomic gradients in travel patterns. Qualitative: how free bus travel affected young people and older citizens’ travel and well-being.MethodsQuantitative component: change-on-change analysis comparing pre–post change in the target age group (12–17 years) against that seen in ‘non-exposed’ groups [for travel mode, road traffic injury (RTI) and assaults]. Qualitative component: interviews analysed using both deductive and inductive methods. Economic evaluation: cost–benefit analysis (CBA).Data sourcesLondon Area Transport Survey (LATS) and London Travel Demand Survey (LTDS) (travel mode); STATS19 Road Accident data set (RTI); Hospital Episode Statistics (HES) (assaults); interviews with young people and older citizens; and cost data from providers and literature reviews.ResultsThe introduction of free bus travel for young people was associated with higher use of bus travel by adults and young people [31% increase, 95% confidence interval (CI) 19% to 42%; and 26% increase, 95% CI 13% to 41%, respectively], especially for short journeys, and lower car distances relative to adults (relative change 0.73, 95% CI 0.55 to 0.94); no significant overall reduction in ‘active travel’ [reduction in number of walking trips but no evidence of change in distance walked (relative change 0.99, 95% CI 0.92 to 1.07)]; significant reduction in cycling relative to adults (but from a very low base); a reduction in road traffic injuries for car occupants (relative change 0.89, 95% CI 0.84 to 0.95) and cyclists (relative change 0.60, 95% CI 0.55 to 0.66), but not pedestrians; an overall modest increase in journeys to work or school (relative change 1.09, 95% CI 1.06 to 1.14); equivocal evidence of impact on socioeconomic gradients in travel behaviour and no evidence of adverse impact on travel of older people aged > 60 years. An increase in assaults largely preceded the scheme. Qualitative data suggested that the scheme increased opportunities for independent travel, social inclusion, and a sense of belonging and that it ‘normalised’ bus travel. The monetised benefits of the scheme substantially outweighed the costs, providing what the Department for Transport (DfT) considers ‘high’ value for money.ConclusionThe free bus travel scheme for young people appears to have encouraged their greater use of bus transport for short trips without significant impact on their overall active travel. There was qualitative evidence for benefits on social determinants of health, such as normalisation of bus travel, greater social inclusion and opportunities for independent travel. In the context of a good bus service, universal free bus travel for young people appears to be a cost-effective contributor to social inclusion and, potentially, to increasing sustainable transport in the long term. Further research is needed on the effects of both active and other travel modes on the determinants of health; the factors that influence maintenance of travel mode change; travel as ‘social practice’; the impact of driving license changes on injury rates for young adults and the value of a statistical life for young people.FundingThe National Institute for Health Research Public Health Research programme.

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Section: Introductionunclassified

“…Em Londres (Reino Unido), a isenção da tarifa para qualquer pessoa menor de 17 anos, implantada em 2005, contribuiu para aumentar em 26% o uso de transporte público entre os mais jovens, sem que tenha havido redução nos deslocamentos ativos 8,9 . A isenção da tarifa também normalizou o uso do transporte público e transformou a viagem de ônibus em importante espaço público de interação social para esse grupo populacional 8,9 . Outras ações têm o potencial de reverter a tendência encontrada na Região Metropolitana de São Paulo, como a revisão do Plano Diretor Estratégico do Município de São Paulo e a elaboração dos Planos Municipais de Mobilidade Urbana, que têm como um dos princípios fundamentais a priorização do pedestre, do ciclista e do usuário de transporte público.…”

Section: Introductionunclassified

Aumento no uso de transporte motorizado privado no deslocamento das crianças para a escola na Região Metropolitana de São Paulo, Brasil, 1997-2012

Sá

Rezende

Rabacow³

et al. 2016

Cad. Saúde Pública

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Resumo: A Região Metropolitana de São Paulo, Brasil, apresentou, entre 1997 e 2007, tendência de aumento do uso transporte motorizado privado nos deslocamentos de crianças para a escola, com potenciais prejuízos à saúde. O objetivo deste estudo foi ampliar a análise de tal tendência para 2012 e discutir possíveis estratégias para aumentar a proporção de crianças que andam, pedalam e usam o transporte público. A análise dos dados da Pesquisa de Mobilidade de 2012 indica não apenas a continuidade, mas a aceleração no aumento do uso transporte motorizado privado em deslocamentos de crianças entre 6 e 11 anos para a escola. O efeito de iniciativas em andamento sobre essa tendência só será devidamente compreendido com o devido monitoramento dos deslocamentos cotidianos e a avaliação do impacto dessas ações sobre a saúde da população. Um pacote de políticas e programas voltados especificamente para a promoção e proteção da mobilidade a pé, de bicicleta ou por transporte público de crianças é imprescindível para garantir o deslocamento seguro, independente e ativo de crianças para a escola na Região Metropolitana de São Paulo.

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Rethinking passive transport: Bus fare exemptions and young people's wellbeing

Cited by 63 publications

References 30 publications

Role of Social Climate in Habitual Transit Use by Young Adults to Work and Leisure Activities

Role of Social Climate in Habitual Transit Use by Young Adults to Work and Leisure Activities

On the buses: a mixed-method evaluation of the impact of free bus travel for young people on the public health

Aumento no uso de transporte motorizado privado no deslocamento das crianças para a escola na Região Metropolitana de São Paulo, Brasil, 1997-2012

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