A Mode Choice Model of Elementary School Trips based on ParentalDecisions

Document Type : Scientific - Research

Authors

Abstract

Alleviating traffic congestion and improving air quality at the school zones, motivating independent decision making abilities and obtaining skills in social networking, as well as combating the increasing rate of obesity requires a comprehensive investigation of mode choice among the children in their daily trips to/from the schools. Little attention paid in the literature to educational trips of students in primary schools, besides a rather sophisticated process of decision making and modeling parameters encouraged the authors to investigate the significant variables in parental decision making regarding mode choice for the primary school students. 290 Questionnaires were distributed among students in four elementary schools (including public and private boys and girls schools) to fill out by the parents in May 2013 in Rasht. The questionnaire contained validated instruments to collect socio-economic and environmental variables as well as the mode they use to take for their kids in daily educational trips. After refining the disaggregated data, 162 questionnaires were entered into analysis and Multinomial logit model was used to explain the probability that particular modes (namely school bus, walking and the private car of household) are selected by the parents for their kids. The number of vehicles the family owns, the father occupational status, household income, gender of student, distance to school and level of physical exercise of the parents (in a weekly basis) were all recognized statistically significant in the mode type selected for the student. This means that encouraging parents to physical exercise and enhancing the quality of schools to enable parents to choose closer schools in the living area are among the policies to encourage the active mode choice by the children.

Keywords

References

- Ben Akiva, M. and Lerman, S. R. (1993) "Discrete choice analysis: theory and application to travel demand". 5th printing, MIT Press.
- Copperman, R.B. and Bhat, C.R. (2010) "An assessment of the state-of-the-research of US children’s time-use and activity-travel patterns". Second Workshop on Time Use Observatory.
- Faulkner, G.E., Richichi, V., Buliung, R., Fusco, C. and Moola, F. (2010) "What’s “quickest and easiest?”: parental decision making about school trip mode", International journal of behavioral nutrition
and physical activity 7(62), pp. 1-11.
- Lin, J. and Chang, H. (2010) "Built environment effects on children’s school travel in Taipei: Independence and travel mode", Urban Studies, 47(4), pp. 867–889.
- McAlister, A.L., Perry, C.H. and Parcel, G.S. (2008) "How individuals, environments, and health behaviors interact: social cognitive theory", In K. Glanz, B.K. Rimer, & K. Viswanath (Eds.), Health behavior and health education: Theory, research, and practice, 4th ed., pp. 169–188.
- McDonald, N.C. (2008a) "Household interactions and children’s school travel: The effect of parental work patterns on walking and biking to school", Journal of Transport Geography, 16(5), pp. 324–331.
- McDonald, N.C. (2008b). "Children’s mode choice for the school trip: The role of distance and school location in walking to school". Transportation, 35(1), pp. 23–35.
- McMillan, T. E. (2007) "The relative influence of urban form on a child's travel mode to school". Transportation Research Part A, 41, pp. 69-79.
- McMillan, T. E. (2005) "Urban form and a child’s trip to school: The current literature and a framework for future research". Journal of Planning Literature, 19(4), pp. 440–456.
- Mitra, R., Buliung, R. and Faulkner, G. E. (2010) "Spatial clustering and the temporal mobility of walking school trips in the Greater Toronto Area, Canada", Health and Place, 16, pp. 646–655.
- Mitra, R., Buliung, R. and Roorda, M. J. (2010) "The built environment and school travel mode choice in Toronto, Canada". Transportation Research Record, 2156, pp. 2150–2159.
- Moudon, A.V. and Lee, C. (2003) "Walking and biking: An evaluation of environmental audit in-  struments", American Journal of Health Promotion, 18(1), pp. 21–37.
- Panter, J. R., Jones, A.P. and van Sluijs, E.M.F. (2008) "Environmental determinants of active travel in youth: A review and framework for future research". International Journal of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity, pp. 5-34. doi: 10.1186/1479- 5868-5-34.
- Saelens, B.E., Sallis, J.F. and Frank, L.D. (2003) "Environmental correlates of walking and cycling:
findings from the transportation, urban design, and planning literatures", Annals of behavioral medicine 25(2), pp. 80-91.
- Sidharthan, R., Bhat, C. R., Pendyala, R. M. and Goulias, K. G. (2011) "Model for children’s school travel mode choice", ransportation Research Record, 2213, pp. 78–86.
- Train, K. (2009) "Discrete choice methods with simulation", Cambridge University Press.
- Vovsha, P. and Petersen, E. (2005) "Discrete choice methods with simulation: Escorting children to school: Statistical analysis and applied modeling approach", Transportation Research Record, 1921, pp. 131–140.
- Yarlagadda, A. and Srinivasan, S. (2008) "Modeling children’s school travel mode and parental escort decisions". Transportation, 35(2), pp. 201-218.
- Zwerts, E., Allaert, G., Jenssens, D., Wets, G. and Witlox, F. (2010) "How children view their travel behaviour: A case study from Flanders (Belgium)", Journal of Transport Geography, 18, pp. 702–710.
Quarterly Journal of Transportation Engineering
Volume 7, Issue 1 - Serial Number 1
April 2015
Pages 167-178

Files

History

  • Receive Date: 15 May 2014
  • Revise Date: 20 August 2014
  • Accept Date: 08 January 2015

Share

How to cite

Statistics