The impact of Covid-19 on children's active travel to school in Vietnam

Abstract

This is among the first studies to provide empirical evidence on active school travel rates and determinants before and after the first Covid-19 lockdown in spring 2020. We have collected and analyzed primary survey data on the school travel patterns of 472 school-age children in Hanoi, Vietnam. The findings show that the Covid-19 pandemic has been quite detrimental: once schools reopened, the prevalence of active school travel decreased from 53% to less than 31%. Where parents, especially mothers, did not face barriers to motorized travel, they assumed the role of chauffeur. Parents who were more concerned about community infections were more motivated to shift children to motorized modes. Walking was more affected than cycling because it was seen as more likely to lead to physical contact and virus transmission. Active school travel dropped more steeply in urban districts (as opposed to poorer, non-urban districts) and in those areas where home-school distances were the largest. It appears that the most common perceptions around barriers to active school travel have been exacerbated during the pandemic as parents and children adapt to “the new normal”.

Why are Hanoi students giving up on bus ridership?

“…Most use discounted monthly passes, which are quite affordable. 1 While the overall bus modal share in the Vietnamese capital is only 7–9 percent (Department of Transport 2021 ; Nguyen et al 2020 , 2021b ; TRAMOC 2019 ), student passengers account for more than a third of bus trips (Nguyen et al 2017 ). Their contribution to public transport patronage became clearer in 2020 at the outset of the Covid-19 pandemic.…”

“…Automobile ownership is low but on the rise; it currently stands at 60 cars per 1000 inhabitants. 2 Cycling is a marginal mode, mainly used by children; adults mostly consider it as recreation (Hansen 2017 ; Nguyen et al 2021a ).…”

Results from Viet Nam's 2022 report card on physical activity for children and youth

“…The full-text screening was undertaken for 31 articles. Eight papers informed the assessment of six indicators: Overall Physical Activity , 15 , 16 , 17 Active Play , 16 Active Transportation , 18 Sedentary Behaviors , 15 , 17 , 19 Family and Peers , 20 and Community and Environment . 21 , 22 Grey literature searches resulted in three government strategic plans reporting on two indicators: School 23 , 24 and Government 25 ; the Global School-based Health Survey (GSHS) report 6 which informed both Overall Physical Activity and Active Transport , and another report by Department of Preventive Medicine, which provided data to assess the Family and Peers indicator.…”

“…6 Another cross-sectional study in 2020 reported that 53% of school children (aged 5–15 years) used active transport to and from school in Hanoi city; however, this proportion reduced to only 16% during the COVID-19 pandemic. 18 Although this data were only collected in Hanoi, this is the second-largest city in Viet Nam and the study findings are likely generalizable to other urban areas. In other provinces and rural areas, it is more common for students to walk or bike to school due to limitations in other modes of transportation.…”

Bus Crash Severity in Hanoi, Vietnam

“…The authors worked with bus providers from September to December 2020 to collect the collision data of subsidized bus routes in Hanoi from 2015 to 2019. The data of 2020 were excluded since the bus operation within this period were largely affected by the social distancing directive mandated to stop the transmission of COVID-19 [49][50][51][52].…”