Barriers and Determinants of Active Commuting to School in Slovenia

There is a growing body of literature reporting the health benefits of active commuting to school. This study investigated barriers and determinants of active commuting in children in Slovenia living within walking or cycling distance to school, i.e., 3 km. The sample consisted of 339 children (163 girls) aged 11–14 years who reported their mode of commuting, as well as their parents who described the socioeconomic environment of the family. Every third child in this study traveled to school exclusively by car/public transport, while every fifth participant used a passive means of transport when returning home from school. Potential household poverty, education of the mother and parental encouragement for physical activity were not associated with the commuting mode. In addition, conformist family barriers dominated among reasons for not choosing active commuting. A distance to school that was perceived to be too long was the most frequently cited barrier (72% of participants who passively commuted in both directions), followed by concern about being late for school (38% of participants who passively commute in one direction). Parents from all social strata who drive their children to school in either one or both directions while living in a walking or cycling range are a promising target population for active commuting interventions.

The Commuting Mode Choice of Students of Institut Teknologi Bandung, Indonesia

This research explored the commuting mode preferences of students living near Institut Teknologi Bandung when a new mode of transportation (i.e., carpool) is introduced to the selection list. Six alternative modes were presented: minibus, car, motorcycle, car-based ride-sourcing, motorcycle-based ride-sourcing, and carpool. The data collection process was conducted using a questionnaire-based stated-preferences survey. It included eight sets of labeled scenarios with a number of attributes: travel time, travel cost, waiting time, transfer amount, access and egress time, frequency, congestion time, baggage cost, and parking cost. A total of 1416 observations were acquired for further analysis. A mixed logit (MXL) model with random cost parameter and random error components was used. From the MXL results, we found that travel cost had no significant influence on the selection of commuting mode among students. This result was unforeseen given the characteristics of Indonesian consumers, who are notoriously sensitive to price. However, based on the results for several significant attributes of carpool as well as from the value of travel time savings and demand calculation, we suggest that carpooling is a valid alternative transport mode for campus commuting. As a pioneer study on student commuting mode selection, this study provided valid and dependable evidence on how students around ITB main campus choose their transportation methods. Abstrak. Penelitian ini mengeksplorasi preferensi moda perjalanan pulang pergi mahasiswa yang tinggal di dekat Institut Teknologi Bandung ketika moda transportasi baru (yaitu angkutan bersama) menjadi salah satu pilihan moda. Terdata enam moda alternatif yang disajikan: angkot, mobil, sepeda motor, taksi daring, ojek daring, dan angkutan bersama. Proses pengumpulan data dilakukan dengan menggunakan metoda survei stated-preference berbasis kuesioner. Survei tersebut meliputi delapan skenario berlabel dengan sejumlah atribut: waktu perjalanan, biaya perjalanan, waktu tunggu, banyaknya perpindahan moda, waktu perjalanan menuju tempat angkutan umum dan waktu perjalanan menuju tempat tujuan, frekuensi kedatangan, waktu kemacetan, biaya bagasi, dan biaya parkir. Sebanyak 1416 pengamatan diperoleh untuk analisis lebih lanjut. Model mixed logit (MXL) dengan parameter biaya acak dan komponen error acak digunakan. Dari hasil MXL, kami menemukan bahwa biaya perjalanan tidak berpengaruh signifikan terhadap pemilihan moda perjalanan pulang pergi di kalangan mahasiswa. Hasil ini tidak terduga mengingat karakteristik konsumen Indonesia yang terkenal sensitif terhadap harga. Namun, berdasarkan hasil untuk beberapa atribut signifikan dari angkutan bersama serta dari nilai penghematan waktu perjalanan dan perhitungan permintaan, kami menyarankan bahwa angkutan bersama adalah moda transportasi alternatif yang valid untuk komuter kampus. Sebagai studi perintis dalam pemilihan moda perjalanan pulang pergi mahasiswa, studi ini memberikan bukti yang valid dan dapat diandalkan tentang bagaimana mahasiswa di sekitar kampus utama ITB memilih metode transportasi mereka. Keywords. angkutan bersama, mahasiswa ITB, mixed logit, elastisitas, nilai waktu.

Associations of mode and distance of commuting to school with cardiorespiratory fitness in Slovenian schoolchildren: a nationwide cross-sectional study

Background It is unclear whether active commuting has the potential to improve children’s health. This study examined the association of commuting mode and distance with children’s cardiorespiratory fitness (CRF). Methods We conducted a cross-sectional study, including 713 Slovenian schoolchildren aged 12 to 15 years. Commuting modes were self-reported, and four commuting groups were constructed, while CRF was determined with a 20-m shuttle run test. The distance from home to school was calculated using the Geographic Information System. Effects of commuting mode and distance, controlling for age, gender and amount of total physical activity, were evaluated using general two linear models (one for each direction of commuting to/from school). Results The main effect of commuting group on CRF and its interaction with distance were significant in the direction from school to home (P = 0.013 and P = 0.028, respectively), but not in the opposite direction. Predicted differences in CRF between commuting groups were moderate and generally higher in males than in females. When comparing commuting group median distance from home to school, males driven by car had around 4 ml/min/kg lower predicted CRF than those who walked (P = 0.01) or used wheels commuting (e.g., bicycle, skateboard). Conclusions The distance of commuting had a small effect on CRF, except in the Car group where children who live close to school had significantly lower CRF than those living further away. Children driven by car who live within wheels or walk distance from school should be targeted by interventions promoting active transport.

Understanding Young Commuters’ Mode Choice Decision to Use Private Car or Public Transport from an Extended Theory of Planned Behavior

The research examines young commuters’ (age 18–25 years) decision-making process in choosing a mode to commute. The study presented here characterized young commuters’ travel decisions in relation to choosing to use a private car or public transportation for commuting travel. To contribute to greater understanding, the theory of planned behavior (TPB) was used to investigate commuting mode choice, particularly from a social-psychological perspective. Disaggregated travel data was collected from an in-depth survey of young commuters ( n = 3171) who lived in inner and metropolitan Melbourne, Australia. Respondents were clustered based on their usual commuting mode (private car or public transportation). The questionnaire was designed to capture information on young commuters’ attitudes toward their commuting mode, social environment, and travel behavior. Linear regression analysis and binary logistic regression were used to predict intention to choose a commuting mode and the actual mode choice, respectively. Results suggest that young commuters who used a private car held a positive attitude toward the mode. On the contrary, public transportation users had few positive beliefs about commuting by public transportation. Convenience and flexibility were the most valued advantages that the private car offers as a commuting mode. For public transportation users, reliability of the commuting mode was more important than other factors, but they did not agree that public transportation provides reliability. The paper includes a discussion on how the implications of these results can influence government policies and strategies in an effort to increase commuting by public transportation.