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International Origins of Walking School Buses and Child Fatalities in Japan and Canada

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The concept of a Walking School Bus (WSB) has existed in Japan for over half a century, but is a relatively new concept in Anglo-Saxon countries, tracing its origins to the early 1990s. In Anglo-Saxon countries the WSB is seen as a safe means of addressing the negative impacts of increased school trips by car. Recently in Japan, a discussion as to the value and appropriateness of the shuudantōgekō (the Japanese WSB) has emerged as some suggest that it could reduce safety. This paper introduces and compares the two WSB systems, and then uses traffic fatality data from Canada and Japan to compare travel-to-school in an open choice system with a country where WSB is common practice.
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
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  
  
〈論 文〉

   
Owen WAYGOOD, Ayako TANIGUCHI, Catherine CRAIG-
ST-LOUIS and Xin XU
󰐸󰐸
- 1 -
1.Introduction
Japan and Anglo-Saxon countries face different problems
with respect to travel to elementary (or primary or grammar)
schools (in Japan, shōgakkō). In the Anglo-Saxon countries,
the problem relates primarily to an increasing use of private
vehicles as this has been associated with a decrease in
physical activity, increased danger for children, and increased
congestion (e.g. Gilbert and O’Brien, 2005). In Japan, this
problem was addressed many decades ago with the
introduction of children walking together to school, called
shuudantōgekō, which is known as a walking school bus in
English literature. A common question in both the Japanese
and the Anglo-Saxon context is the safety of such systems.
In this paper, the two systems will be first introduced, and
then an examination of fatality data from Canada and Japan is
conducted.
2. Background
In response to the growing dependence of children on car
travel in Anglo-Saxon countries, considerable research has
looked at what explains active travel to elementary schools
(e.g. Sirard and Slater, 2008). Recently, the exceptional case
of the independence of Japanese children has been highlighted
in research (Susilo and Waygood, 2012; Waygood, 2009a, b;
Waygood and Kitamura, 2009; Waygood and Susilo, 2011)
and in the media (Rogers, 2015). A key component of the high
rates of walking in Japan for young children is linked to the
walking school bus system, known as shuudantōgekō (集団登
下校), or often just shuudantōkō (集団登校) which refers to
just the trip to school and not the return.
Walking school buses (WSBs) are used around the world
to promote healthy and safe travel to school. The origin of the
要 旨
日本の小学校における集団登下校は,少なくとも半世紀以上前には存在していた.この集団登下校は
アングロサクソンの国々では Walking School Bus(WSB歩く通学バス)と呼ばれ,1990 年代に始まった新
しいコンセプトである.アングロサクソンの国々では,WSB は増加しつつある自動車通学を抑制できる
安全な手法であると見なされている.近年,日本では「集団登下校が通学時の安全性向上に資するのか」
に関して議論されている.本研究では,カナダと日本における集団登下校(WSB)のシステムを比較する
とともに,単独で通学するカナダと WSB が慣習として根付いている日本の交通事故データを比較する.
Abstract
The concept of a Walking School Bus (WSB) has existed in Japan for over half a century, but is a relatively new
concept in Anglo-Saxon countries, tracing its origins to the early 1990s. In Anglo-Saxon countries the WSB is seen
as a safe means of addressing the negative impacts of increased school trips by car. Recently in Japan, a discussion
as to the value and appropriateness of the shuudantōgekō (the Japanese WSB) has emerged as some suggest that it
could reduce safety. This paper introduces and compares the two WSB systems, and then uses traffic fatality data
from Canada and Japan to compare travel-to-school in an open choice system with a country where WSB is
common practice.
キーワード
Keywords: walking school bus, shuudantōgekō, traffic fatalities, children, Canada, Japan
交通
科学
Vol. ??, No.? ??~??
20??
〈論 文〉
International Origins of Walking School Buses and Child
Fatalities in Japan and Canada
E.O.D. Waygood* A. Taniguchi**
C. Craig-St-Louis*** X. XU****
Original ArticleInternational Origins of Walking
School Buses and Child Fatalities in Japan and Canada
by Owen WAYGOOD, Ayako TANIGUCHI, Catherine
CRAIG-ST-LOUIS and Xin XU
*Assistant Professor, Graduate School of Land Management
and Regional Planning, Laval University, Canada
**Associate Professor, Department of Risk Engineering,
University of Tsukuba, Japan
***MA, Graduate School of Land Management and Regional
Planning, Laval University, Canada
**** Xin Xu, Student, Department of Risk Engineering,
University of Tsukuba, Japan
 
󰐸󰐸
- 1 -
1.Introduction
Japan and Anglo-Saxon countries face different problems
with respect to travel to elementary (or primary or grammar)
schools (in Japan, shōgakkō). In the Anglo-Saxon countries,
the problem relates primarily to an increasing use of private
vehicles as this has been associated with a decrease in
physical activity, increased danger for children, and increased
congestion (e.g. Gilbert and O’Brien, 2005). In Japan, this
problem was addressed many decades ago with the
introduction of children walking together to school, called
shuudantōgekō, which is known as a walking school bus in
English literature. A common question in both the Japanese
and the Anglo-Saxon context is the safety of such systems.
In this paper, the two systems will be first introduced, and
then an examination of fatality data from Canada and Japan is
conducted.
2. Background
In response to the growing dependence of children on car
travel in Anglo-Saxon countries, considerable research has
looked at what explains active travel to elementary schools
(e.g. Sirard and Slater, 2008). Recently, the exceptional case
of the independence of Japanese children has been highlighted
in research (Susilo and Waygood, 2012; Waygood, 2009a, b;
Waygood and Kitamura, 2009; Waygood and Susilo, 2011)
and in the media (Rogers, 2015). A key component of the high
rates of walking in Japan for young children is linked to the
walking school bus system, known as shuudantōgekō (集団登
下校), or often just shuudantōkō (集団登校) which refers to
just the trip to school and not the return.
Walking school buses (WSBs) are used around the world
to promote healthy and safe travel to school. The origin of the
要 旨
日本の小学校における集団登下校は,少なくとも半世紀以上前には存在していた.この集団登下校は
アングロサクソンの国々では Walking School Bus(WSB歩く通学バス)と呼ばれ,1990 年代に始まった新
しいコンセプトである.アングロサクソンの国々では,WSB は増加しつつある自動車通学を抑制できる
安全な手法であると見なされている.近年,日本では「集団登下校が通学時の安全性向上に資するのか」
に関して議論されている.本研究では,カナダと日本における集団登下校(WSB)のシステムを比較する
とともに,単独で通学するカナダと WSB が慣習として根付いている日本の交通事故データを比較する.
Abstract
The concept of a Walking School Bus (WSB) has existed in Japan for over half a century, but is a relatively new
concept in Anglo-Saxon countries, tracing its origins to the early 1990s. In Anglo-Saxon countries the WSB is seen
as a safe means of addressing the negative impacts of increased school trips by car. Recently in Japan, a discussion
as to the value and appropriateness of the shuudantōgekō (the Japanese WSB) has emerged as some suggest that it
could reduce safety. This paper introduces and compares the two WSB systems, and then uses traffic fatality data
from Canada and Japan to compare travel-to-school in an open choice system with a country where WSB is
common practice.
キーワード
Keywords: walking school bus, shuudantōgekō, traffic fatalities, children, Canada, Japan
交通
科学
Vol. ??, No.? ??~??
20??
〈論 文〉
International Origins of Walking School Buses and Child
Fatalities in Japan and Canada
E.O.D. Waygood* A. Taniguchi**
C. Craig-St-Louis*** X. XU****
Original ArticleInternational Origins of Walking
School Buses and Child Fatalities in Japan and Canada
by Owen WAYGOOD, Ayako TANIGUCHI, Catherine
CRAIG-ST-LOUIS and Xin XU
*Assistant Professor, Graduate School of Land Management
and Regional Planning, Laval University, Canada
**Associate Professor, Department of Risk Engineering,
University of Tsukuba, Japan
***MA, Graduate School of Land Management and Regional
Planning, Laval University, Canada
**** Xin Xu, Student, Department of Risk Engineering,
University of Tsukuba, Japan
WSB is often attributed to the Australian transport activist
David Engwicht (e.g. Neuwelt and Kearns, 2006) in 1992. As
of 2009, WSBs could be found in the USA, Canada, Great
Britain, Australia, New Zealand and Denmark (Heelan et al.,
2009). The lack of Japan’s system in such documents perhaps
shows a Western bias, or simply that the Japanese system is
not well documented in English, although it has been briefly
described (e.g. Schoppa, 2009; Susilo and Waygood, 2012),
but has not been well detailed.
In Japan the practice dates back to at least 1962 when the
former Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and
Technology directed that the system be applied across the
country (MEXT, 2009a). Evidence exists of a WSB in 1963 in
Japan when a documentary highlighted its success at
Kemigawa elementary school in Chiba1. In 1968, a notice was
made by the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science
and Technology relating to application of the shuudantōkō
(MEXT, 2009b). Thus, it would appear that the practice of a
walking school bus has existed for many more decades in
Japan than in Anglo-Saxon countries.
Recently in Japan some people have begun to question
whether the WSB is safe and its application is on the decline.
The system was developed in order to address the problem of
traffic danger towards children, but if there is an accident,
more children are involved. This was evident in the six
accidents that happened over 2011 to 2013 where twelve
people died. Some suggest that a long line creates more
danger as there is a larger target, but children walking alone
would create multiple targets without the same visibility that
the larger group gives. However, one study in Tokyo found
that children in the WSB were 1.6 times more likely to be in a
crash than children going individually to school (Kōya City
Research Lab, 2015). The crash rate for the return trip was
equal. It did not specify injury or fatality rates.
As in most countries, transport is a leading cause of death
for children and youth in Japan (McNicoll, 2001; Shinsugi et
al., 2015; Toroyan and Peden, 2007). In a report examining
the death rates from injury between 1991 and 1995 (McNicoll,
2001), Sweden was held up as an example for other countries
with a death rate from injuries of 5.2 per 100,000 for children
aged 1 to 14. Japan had a death rate of 8.4 and Canada a death
rate of 9.7 per 100,000. For children aged 10 to 14, Japan had
the lowest rate with 4.8 per 100,000, while Sweden had a rate
of 5.5 and Canada a rate of 10.2. Thus, for children who have
1 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0WMY91uJekA
grown up using the WSB system, there is a very low injury
rate, though the percentage relative to transport was not given
for individual countries. Overall, transport accounted for 41%
of deaths by injury (ibid).
One problem that is avoided through the WSB that exists
for travel alone is the incidence of criminal activity (though at
rates much lower than fatalities in and by cars). Between 2004
and 2005 there were four cases in Japan where a 1st grade girl
was abducted and killed. This prompted the Ministry of
Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology to
re-emphasize the importance of the WSB in preventing such
crime. As will be discussed below, in one system of the
walking school bus, children independently walk to the
meeting point, and thus are alone for some portion of their
morning trip, which some people point out as a potential risk.
The proposal that the walking school bus may not be safe
is hard to study in a country where it is still the common
practice. In this paper we will first introduce the WSB
practice in Japan and in Anglo-Saxon countries then present
crash statistics related from each country.
3. Anglo-Saxon context
In this research Anglo-Saxon countries are: Australia, Canada,
New Zealand, the United Kingdom (UK), and the United
States of America (USA). In its simplest definition from
Anglo-Saxon literature, a Walking School Bus (WSB) is a
“group of children who walk to and from school with one or
more adults” (Kong et al., 2009). This system (adult lead) can
also be found in South Korea since 2010, which may be
related to the establishment of Safe Kids Korea with the
assistance of U.S. Safe Kids (KOTI, 2015, p. 31).
3.1 Origins
Australian transport activist David Engwicht is often given
credit for inventing the WSB system in the 1990s (Neuwelt
and Kearns, 2006). In Canada, one of the earliest accounts of
a WSB was in 1996 (Kingham and Ussher, 2007)). That may
have been the first application of this system. In New Zealand,
Christchurch was possibly the first city to adopt a WSB
(Collins and Kearns, 2010), but those authors point to St.
Alban, England, for the origins of the concept in 1998
(Collins and Kearns, 2005). Still others retrace the origin of
the first WSB program to Brisbane, Australia though no date
was given (Kong et al., 2009).
3.2 How are Walking School Buses organized in the
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Anglo-Saxon context?
A WSB group can be informal and comprised of only a few
families, or part of a structured program with predefined
routes and schedules, resembling an actual school bus
(Kingham and Ussher, 2007). In most cases the supervision of
an adult and the determination of specific routes and pick-up
times are key concepts of a WSB (Collins and Kearns, 2005;
Heelan et al., 2009; Neuwelt and Kearns, 2006).
In Auckland, New Zealand, the Regional Transport
Authority hires a coordinator for the program and grants
financial support. For each route, a parent coordinator
schedules two volunteers to supervise up to 30 children over a
20-minute walk. In order to maintain control over the group, it
is sometimes necessary for the adults to have the boys in one
line, and the girls in another. In 2006, almost all routes (85%)
in Auckland operated in the morning, whereas it was only half
(53%) for the afternoon (Collins and Kearns, 2010). In places
such as Christchurch, New Zealand, the government also
supports such efforts (Kingham and Ussher, 2007). While
anyone who wishes to volunteer on the WSB will be accepted
in Auckland, police will run background checks on
individuals in the UK (Collins and Kearns, 2005). In the USA,
liability waivers might have to be signed by volunteers
operating in more structured WSBs (National Center for Safe
Routes to School, nd) and in both the USA and in Canada, the
WSB leaders can be insured (Beaton, 2015).
In the USA, researchers have emphasized the need to
secure stakeholders’ investments early in the process (Kong et
al., 2009). In that study, the research group started by handing
out flyers, setting up posters, making presentations and
offering training for parents up to three months prior to start
up. Children in the study were from kindergarten through
fifth-grade and police officers approved of the routes chosen
for the WSB. Children even had health-related themes
presented to them during the walk every other week (Kong et
al., 2009).
In Nebraska, a study was conducted on two schools with
WSB programs where the routes were limited to a 1-mile
radius of the school. The WSB was operated every weekday,
but was cancelled when the weather was unpleasant (e.g. cold
or raining/snowing). Children usually walked four out of five
times over a week with the WSB, walking on average 0.65
miles (1km) each time they took part in the WSB (Heelan et
al., 2009).
For the USA in general, there are online training modules
aimed for parents, teachers, school administrators and
community leaders to help them launch a WSB program (i.e.
National Center for Safe Routes to School website).
For Canada as a whole, there is the Active and Safe
Routes to School organization that proposes on its old website
a toolkit to set up a WSB. The toolkit is made up of a
checklist, sample letters and flyers for promotion, a leaflet
destined to parents with information, and stories of WSB
successes (Green Communities, 2011).
In Ottawa, a pilot project was put into place with routes
being mapped by the Ottawa Student Transportation
Authority’s software using information provided by school
boards. The goal was to include as many students located in a
predetermined zone as possible, and have them walk no more
than 30 minutes. Registration of a child was completed online
(Beaton, 2015).
In British Columbia, Canada the Hub for Active School
Travel, or HASTe, also offers a toolkit and a step-by-step of
how to organize a WSB (HASTe, 2012). Three models are
proposed: one that uses a single location as departure point
with no stops along the way (e.g. from a park to the school),
one that runs through a neighborhood with pick-up points
along the way, and another one that runs through a
neighborhood but picks up every child at his or her home. It
also lists minimum requirements, such as: the approval of the
parents for the registration of their children, a written
agreement on the part of adult volunteers, basic traffic safety
concerns addressed (visibility, for one), one best route
identified, and a list of emergency contacts.
In Canada and the USA, there are also a few references
made to an alternative to the WSB, the bicycle train (HASTe,
2012).
3.2 Are WSB successful in the Anglo-Saxon context?
In Auckland, NZ 42% of schools with a School Travel Plan
(STP) have incorporated a WSB, and many schools without
such a plan also have a WSB (Collins and Kearns, 2010). The
STPs have primarily been implemented in Auckland, NZ as
opposed to other cities in that country (Hinckson and Hannah,
2011). In the USA, one study reported that 6.2% of public
elementary schools nationally use WSBs (Turner et al., 2013).
The number of routes and participants are on the rise in
Auckland, though not much more than half of the children
registered actually join the WSB every morning. In 2005, 77
schools, 156 WSB routes, and 2,400 children were involved
in WSBs in Auckland (Neuwelt and Kearns, 2006). Collins
and Kearns (2010) also state that “the longer a route endures,
 
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the more embedded it becomes in the routines of families and
the tradition of the school community.” The evidence they
give remains sparse: they explain that of half the schools
surveyed, one or more WSB route is 1-year old or older.
Volunteer recruitment and retention determines the WSB’s
likelihood of success; school involvement then appears as
essential for continuity, because in Auckland almost no school
ever dropped the project entirely (Collins and Kearns, 2010).
The success of the pilot operation in New Mexico, USA is
also said to be attributed to the inclusion of parents and school
staff in the WSB (Kong et al., 2009).
A next key to success then seems to be the desire of the
participants to take part in a WSB. But sometimes, it isn’t
enough: in New Mexico, a lack of funding did not permit the
initiative to continue past the length of the initial study
experiment (Kong et al., 2009). In terms of participants, it
isn’t always volunteers that are hard to keep: WSBs can
eventually fail when children get older and acquire the
necessary independence and skills to walk to school by
themselves (Kingham and Ussher, 2007), which may be
linked to a lack of diversity in the ages of households in a
neighborhood.
Related to encouraging children to use the WSB, South
Korea (which began piloting the Anglo-Saxon WSB system in
2010) uses a reward system where children who participate in
the WSB for the entire month are given prizes (KOTI, 2015, p.
180).
3.3. Is there evidence of improving safety?
Safety issues raised by parents go from stranger danger to
children’s lack of street knowledge. Walking in a group with
responsible individuals reduces these concerns. Neuwelt and
Kearns (2006) noted that parents felt that their children learn
more about safety measures through the WSB process.
Perceived benefits also include the improvement of safety,
though hard data is difficult to come across. More walkers and
cyclists on the street would likely raise the awareness towards
such users and result in fewer collisions with motorized
vehicles (Collins and Kearns, 2010; Ewing and Dumbaugh,
2009). Although it is said that an increase in traffic volume
has been linked to an increased threat to child safety, it is not
necessarily true that reducing traffic will result in increased
child safety. In fact, it might only be because fewer and fewer
children have been exposed to traffic in recent years that the
number of injuries has come down (Hillman et al., 1990;
Kingham and Ussher, 2007).
While walking, accompaniment by an adult is said to
reduce risk of injury for children (Kingham and Ussher, 2007).
Safety rules have sometimes been implemented to limit
aggressive play between children and safety vests have been
added to ensure visibility (Collins and Kearns, 2010). The
involvement of police officers to determine routes and the
addition of a crossing guard where needed as a guarantee of
increased safety.
In some cases, WSB initiatives are linked with changes to
the infrastructure that would aid pedestrians. In Auckland, NZ,
minor improvements such as upgrading footpaths were
documented (Collins and Kearns, 2010). An initiative in
South Carolina, USA, reported changes made to the
infrastructures (streetlights, sidewalks, etc.) once the WSB
program was put in place. There was also a suggestion that
traffic had slowed (National Center for Safe Routes to School,
2010).
WBS are often concentrated in low deprivation
neighborhoods (e.g. better-off neighborhoods), but collisions
involving pedestrian are disproportionately found in areas of
high deprivation (e.g. Pabayo et al., 2012), thus it is possible
to wonder whether WSBs have an actual impact matching that
of their true potential (Collins and Kearns, 2005).
3.4 Other benefits associated with WSB
Most of the WSB benefits are hard to quantify (Kingham and
Ussher, 2007). Beyond safety, suggested benefits would also
include: “reduced level of parental chauffeuring, less traffic
congestion in the vicinity of primary schools at peak times
and increased routine physical activity” (Collins and Kearns,
2010). Kingham and Ussher (2007) indeed speak of WSBs
encouraging “children’s independent mobility” because they
are not always chauffeured by their own parents anymore, but
sometimes walked to school lead by other adults (though this
does not correspond with definitions of independent mobility
as the child is still supervised, thus dependent on an adult).
The creation of a long-term habit and norm regarding physical
activity is sometimes given (e.g. Active and Safe Routes to
School, Canada).
Some authors, without giving numbers or explaining
further, will write about the possibility of reduced air
pollution exposure for children in WBSs, as their participation
in it ensures that fewer cars gather around the school at peak
hours (Kingham and Ussher, 2007). In Auckland, it was
calculated that 429 vehicle journeys had been saved by 22
schools on approximately 23 WSB routes in operation,
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contributing to reducing congestion and threats of injuries
around schools (Collins and Kearns, 2005). A WSB in
Auckland was reported to have saved 19.5 car journeys on
average per day (Collins and Kearns, 2010).
It is often proposed that children would also get to school
more ready to learn and more alert, show better academic
results, better moods and reduced anxiety (Kingham and
Ussher, 2007), however it is difficult to find published
literature related to these assertions. Research has found that
children who are active, for example those who have just
walked 20 minutes, have shown more neural activity than
children who have been sedentary, as would be the case in
passive modes such as cars (Castelli et al., 2015). In New
Zealand, principals at schools also reported having the
impression that their children got to school more ready to
learn and calmer if they walked (Neuwelt and Kearns, 2006).
Other perceived benefits include social connections made
by the children and adults participating in the WSB, the
promotion of community spirit, the increased fitness level, the
influence it has on the entire family, the time saving for
parents who do not need to accompany their children to
school everyday, the enjoyment of the walk, and the
development of traffic skills (Neuwelt and Kearns, 2006;
Kingham and Ussher, 2007; Collins and Kearns, 2010).
Health benefits were rated higher than all other benefits
by parents of children using the WSB; 5% of children’s daily
physical activity can be attained simply by walking to school
(Neuwelt and Kearns, 2006). As demonstration of physical
activity benefits, in the USA, a study reported that over
two-thirds of children in schools where a WSB had been
implemented walk to school at least 50% of the time, versus
only one out of four children in schools where no WSB had
been implemented achieved that same goal (Heelan et al.,
2009).
Not only would WSB initiatives help increase the level of
fitness in children, but it would potentially help reduce obesity,
as children who where part of one WSB study had a body
mass index (BMI) that “did not increase over the trial” (Kong
et al., 2009).
4. The Japanese Context
Japan has had an institutionalized form of a WSB since at
least 1962 when the former Ministry of Education, Culture,
Sports, Science and Technology directed that the system be
applied across the country. The system is known as
shuudantōgekō (集団登下校), or often just shuudantōkō (
団登校) which refers to just the trip to school and not the
return. It was created fundamentally as a safety measure and
groups children to walk safely together to and from school.
Although the total number of participating schools is
declining, over 65% of the Japan’s elementary schools and
still practice shuudantōgekō (MEXT, 2013).
4.1 Fundamentals of the system
The exact application of the shuudantōgekō varies by location
and school. In its most general description it is a small group
of roughly ten children who are lead to school by a child in
the fifth or sixth grade (ages roughly ten to twelve) who
carries a yellow flag. As well, it is common for the children to
have yellow caps. Walking in a group with the yellow flag
and caps is intended to increase their visibility to vehicles
(thus reducing their vulnerability to traffic danger) and
prevent criminal acts such as abduction. In participating
schools, all children are involved.
The groups may be organized by the school, the safety
committee of the local parent-teachers’ association (PTA in
Japanese as well), or a combination of the two. As well, there
is an adult who is responsible for the group and this may be a
teacher or a PTA member.
The grouping of the children varies, but has two key
components. The first is geographic proximity. Depending on
the density of children, it may only be one apartment building
and its immediate surroundings, or perhaps a couple of
blocks.
The second component is the age of the children. There is
typically a mix of ages, but it must include an older child
(grade five or six) to lead the younger children on the route.
The meeting location may be a park, in front of a home or
business, in the lobby of an apartment building, or other such
(semi-) public space. In some systems, the children go to the
meeting point on their own, in others, the children are
escorted by a guardian to the meeting point. In the latter
system, a child is thus never alone. In the system where
children are not escorted to the meeting point, a member of
the local PTA will keep surveillance on the group when it
starts up at the beginning of the school year. Recently, a
teacher might be assigned by the school to be present along
the route. In some areas where this is not the case, a local PTA
member will be present at some point along the route and this
responsibility rotates amongst the members.
4.2 Operational issues
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As in most situations that involve organizing a wide range of
individuals, there are various problems. A list of those
potential problems is given here with potential solutions
following:
1) A child is late to the meeting point. The lead child may
have difficulty deciding when to leave, which can lead to the
group being late. If it is uncommon for that child to be late,
the lead child may swing by the tardy child’s home and call
out “we’re off!” to prompt the child to come quickly. If the
child is chronically late, they may be dropped from the group.
2) A child is absent/unable to go to school. In such cases, the
parent may inform the school, but no message is sent to the
group of children who remain at the meeting point, waiting
for the absent child.
3) The meeting time is considered too early. Even though
schools will typically start at around 8:30 AM, the meeting
time may be considerably earlier such as 7:45 AM for a
10-minute walk. This may be a result of trying to allow for
children who are late (no matter the time) and thus giving
ample “cushion” time; it may also be the result of anticipating
slow or leisurely walking speeds by the children.
4) A child is very early. Some children may want to get to the
school in order to play. Others may come from homes where
the parents must work early. In such cases, the child may not
wait around for the others and simply go to the school directly.
This can cause the same problem as above (1) with the group
waiting for the non-present child.
5) The meeting location is problematic. In some cases, the
meeting point may be further from the school than the child’s
home. In others, it may be located at a point where there is
considerable traffic such as by a convenience store parking lot.
In still others, the children may be waiting at a point that
inconveniences other people such as in the lobby of an
apartment.
6) The lead child is not responsible enough. The lead child
may see a friend in another WSB and begin chatting,
forgetting their responsibilities. However, it is not clear
whether this has ever happened.
7) The children get excited. As happens when children get
together, they may begin to have fun. Although we do not
want to suggest that children should not have fun, this can
result in dangerous situations if the child suddenly darts out of
the group into traffic.
8) Trailing line and limited vision. As the children cross roads,
they may not be aware that the lights have changed because of
limited vision due to walking closely behind another child.
9) A parent’s schedule may not allow for participation. Parents
are expected to help in some fashion, but if their work
obligations prevent them from helping, other parents who
must take their place may feel resentment. In some cases the
parent who is unable to help with the walking school bus may
help in other ways such as cleaning.
10) The parent is not good at disciplining the children. In the
case where children are too excited and a dangerous situation
may arise, the adult who is responsible for the group must
control the group. However, some parents are not good at this,
and they may then feel stressed, as they would be held
responsible if something were to happen.
Many of those problems have possible solutions. Here are
some potential ones (numbers correspond to the problems):
1) As mentioned, choosing an earlier meeting point would
allow for a “cushion” with the time, but it may cause other
problems such as parents feeling that the meeting time is too
early. To handle the problem of the lead child having
difficulty knowing when to leave, an adult could give a
definitive time to leave that could be set as an alarm on a
watch.
2) A message could be passed to anyone in the group to share
that one of the members is absent.
3) The meeting time could be reviewed by the school by
anonymous vote.
4) This could be a problem, as it might be difficult for a
message to be given to the walking group. However, with
modern technology and the ownership rates of cellular
telephones, mailing lists that send a text message to the
parents could facilitate an available adult to go and inform the
group.
5) Meeting points should be considered with respect to
context. Although some locations are “easy”, as they are
familiar to everyone, consideration to the potential danger or
inconvenience to others should be made.
6) As it is not clear whether this is a real problem, or just a
potential one, it is not necessary to deal with it currently.
7) This problem has two sides to it. One is the “problem” of
children having fun. The other is the traffic. As far as possible,
the traffic speed along such routes should be kept under 30
km/h to reduce the danger caused by the traffic (the risk of
death significantly increases at 50 km/h (Rosen et al., 2011)).
The burden of safety should not lie only on children (Hillman
et al., 1990; Parusel and McLaren, 2010), or as the Director of
Korea Transportation Safety Authority, KANG Dong Su
wrote, “children should be able to freely walk and play
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anytime and anywhere, while adults have the duty to protect
children no matter what transport mode they use” (KOTI,
2015; p. 57). The individual creating the danger should carry
the majority of the burden, which requires the state to set safe
traffic speeds. On more major routes such as arterials,
separated walkways (whether that is a sidewalk or a level area
with barriers) should be used with the children staying away
from the edge that separates the modes.
8) There are several potential solutions that come to mind for
this problem. One is that the children do not walk so close
that they cannot see the traffic light. A second would be that
the lead child must wait at an intersection for all of the
children to be ready to cross in a tighter group (e.g. 2 lines)
that would take less time to cross the road. A third solution
would be a technological one where the traffic light would
have a sensor or button that allows for more time to cross.
This would also help elderly or others with mobility
problems.
9) As society changes, some adjustment is necessary. There
are more households now where there is not a parent available
due to work obligations. Consideration must be made to such
contexts.
10) Not all people are equally able to control children. A
guidebook and examples of how to handle such situations
could help.
5. Differences in the Systems
If the two systems are compared (Table 1), numerous
differences can be observed. In terms of success, the Japanese
system has shown greater longevity, school participation rates,
and child participation rates.
Table 1. Comparison of the two systems
Anglo-Saxon Japanese
Date origin or
implementati
on
1992 and after Likely before 1955,
but first official
documentation is
1962.
Organized by Local organizer or
volunteer
School or the PTA
Safety
equipment
May use reflective
vests
Yellow flag; yellow
caps common
Size of group Up to 30 Roughly 10
School
participation
Unclear. Auckland,
NZ reports the highest
participation with
over 50% of schools
Over 65% of
elementary schools
nationally.
with STPs using
WSB.
Student
participation
Optional, exact
percentage unknown
All students in
school
Distances 1.6 km (1 mile) Unknown
Time < 30 minutes Unknown
Longevity More than 50% of
schools with a WSB
have operated one for
at least one year (NZ)
Has continued for
decades.
A key difference in the systems is that in the Japanese system,
parents or volunteers do not lead the groups. However,
parents are involved in various aspects of the system.
As described by the literature from Western countries, it is
not only danger that one hopes to avoid with WSBs. In
situations where parents are left to arrange travel for their
children, the car has become the most common means of
transport in many Anglo-Saxon countries (Gilbert and
O’Brien, 2005). The parents give numerous reasons for this
such as distance, climate, stranger danger, and traffic danger
(McDonald and Aalborg, 2009). This final point is important
as often the traffic danger is caused by the parents themselves
rushing to drop children off. So, in such a system, parents are
rushed, but rather than rushing on foot to a meeting point,
they are rushing in cars to a place where all of the children
attending a school are congregating.
Although it is more common for children who live within
a reasonable walking distance of school to go by foot, even
children at distances of less than 800m may be driven in the
Anglo-Saxon countries (e.g. McDonald and Aalborg, 2009;
Waygood and Susilo, 2015). As these are often additional trips,
it follows that along with increased danger to other children,
these trips also reduce the child’s physical activity, reduce air
quality in the area around the school, produce more
greenhouse gases, create greater congestion, and likely
consume more of the parents’ time (this is certainly the case
for the walking school bus system where the child walks to
the meeting point). Further, although given as a potential
source of danger, children who walk have more opportunity to
socially engage with their friends (Kirby and Inchley, 2013;
Panter et al., 2008; Westman et al., 2015; Zwerts et al., 2010)
and their community (Waygood and Friman, 2015).
6. Fatalities in individual versus walking school bus
systems
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As mentioned in the introduction, one analysis found that
children in Tokyo who were not in WSBs had a lower crash
rate than children in WSBs on the trip to school. It was not
clear from that study, which was not peer reviewed, what the
modes of the children were for the individual trips, nor
whether the injury or fatality rates were different, simply that
the crash rates were different.
In this study, a comparison will be made between Canada
and Japan’s fatality rates.
Of the Anglo-Saxon countries, according to a UNICEF
report, traffic deaths for children aged 1 to 14 over the years
1991-1995, the UK had the lowest deaths per 100,000 with
2.9, followed by Canada with 4.3, then Australia with 4.4, the
USA with 5.8, and finally New Zealand with 6.9 (UNICEF,
2001). According to Statistics Canada, accidental injuries are
the leading cause of death for children aged 1 to 14 in Canada,
with the majority of those being transport (Statistics Canada,
2015). The average for children aged 1 to 14 between 2000
and 2011 was 6.5, suggesting an increase (compared with
UNICEF, 2001).
In Canada, as in most countries around the world,
transport is one of the leading causes of death for children and
youth. Based on statistics from Statistics Canada on cause of
death, from 2001-2011 transport deaths were on average
responsible for 1.85 deaths per 100,000 for five to nine year
olds (2nd most common after malignant neoplasms), and 2.6
deaths per 100,000 for ten to fourteen year olds (most
common, representing 20%). Motorised vehicle crashes were
attributed to 92% (5 to 9 year olds) and 94% (10 to 14 year
olds) of those deaths. Unfortunately, national statistics on the
modal share of children’s travel in Canada is not available,
but studies on children’s travel do not find that over 90% of
trips are by motor vehicle. Considering that likely most deaths
for pedestrians and cyclists are caused by motor vehicles, the
question might be how to better tame traffic rather than to
potentially encourage more (if parents were allowed to start
driving their children to school).
Comparing available data from Japan and Canada for
children fifteen and under (Figure 1), it can be seen that Japan
has a much lower rate of fatalities by transport than Canada.
Figure 1. Fatalities per 100,000 children aged 15 and under by
transport for Canada and Japan between 2002 and 2007. (Data
from (Statistics Canada, 2015) for Canada and (IATSS, 2008)
for Japan).
If only pedestrian deaths for children aged 15 and under are
examined (Figure 2), the rates are similar, though Canada is
still higher. Keeping in mind that most children are driven to
school and to their activities in Canada (Gilbert and O’Brien,
2005) that would suggest the rate should be lower than
Japan’s.
Figure 2. Pedestrian fatalities per 100,000 children aged 15
and under by transport for Canada and Japan between 2002
and 2007. (Data from (Transport Canada, 2015) for Canada
and (IATSS, 2008) for Japan).
If we examine modal share for fatalities (Figures 3 & 4), in
both countries it is travel by motorised vehicle that is the most
associated in Canada.
󰐸󰐸
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Figure 3. Fatalities per 100,000 children aged 15 and under by
transport for Japan between 2002 and 2007. (Data from
(IATSS, 2008))
Figure 4. Fatalities per 100,000 children aged 15 and under by
transport for Japan between 2002 and 2007(Transport Canada,
2015).
For fatalities by mode during the week (Figure 5), the total for
Canada is much higher, and the most common mode related to
fatalities is different. In Canada, where travel by car
represents the majority of trips, it represents 2/3rds of all
fatalities. In Japan, it represents 1/5th, but car travel during the
week for children aged seven to twelve is likely low (e.g.
(Susilo and Waygood, 2012; Waygood and Kitamura, 2009).
Figure 5. Fatalities per 100,000 children aged 7 to 12 in Japan
and Canada by mode (Data from (Transport Canada, 2015)
for Canada, and (IATSS, 2008) for Japan).
Now, if we look at the time of day (over the entire week) and
children between the ages of seven and twelve (e.g. those
likely in elementary school; Figure 6), it can be seen that one
of the lowest points for the Japanese children is the morning
commute when the WSB is practiced, whereas in Canada,
where most children go individually (i.e. not in groups or on
buses), the fatality rate is considerably higher. The same result
as that was found for Canada exists in South Korea (KOTI,
2015) where children generally go independently to school,
which suggests that it is not an “Asian” phenomenon.
Figure 6. Fatalities per 100,000 children aged 7 to 12 by time
of day for Canada and Japan (data from (Transport Canada,
2015) for Canada, and (IATSS, 2008) for Japan).
As the amount of energy contained in a crash is related to the
mass and velocity (kinetic energy = ½ * mass * velocity^2),
the difference in impact between walking and traveling by
motorized vehicle is considerable. This brings us to the point
about the study in Tokyo that found that crash rates were
higher for children in walking school buses. As mentioned, it
is not known what modes were used by the children not in
WSBs. Although Japan has a lower fatality rate, it does have a
higher injury rate (341/100,000) than Canada (153/100,000)
for children aged seven to twelve. What this suggests is that
crashes are more severe in Canada, as they are more likely to
lead to death. For the overall population, it can be seen that
indeed Canada has a higher fatality (8.9/100,000 in 2005) and
serious injury rate (53.5/100,000 in 2005) versus Japan (4.5
fatalities per 100,000 in 2007 and 47.4 serious injuries per
100,000 in 2007). Unfortunately, it was not possible to find
the number of crashes for Canada. In Japan, the rate has
remained at roughly 1.2 injuries per crash for decades, though
a small increase (less than 0.1% per year) can be seen.
A further important point is that in Japan the injuries per
capita increase with total vehicle kilometers traveled (VKMT;
Figure 7). As the progression of VKMT with time is almost
exact, the impact of cars on Japan’s society increases with
each year.
 
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Figure 7. Injuries per capita in Japan for the general
population by vehicle kilometers travelled (VKMT; Data from
(IATSS, 1977, 1982, 1987, 1992, 1997, 2002).
The link with fatalities is less clear (Figure 8). Here,
traditional measures of transport safety (fatalities per distance
travelled) would show that driving is getting safer. However,
the overall impact on society remains nearly constant.
Figure 8. Fatalities per capita in Japan for the general
population by vehicle kilometers travelled (VKMT; Data from
(IATSS, 1977, 1982, 1987, 1992, 1997, 2002).
Considering that leaving parents the responsibility to get their
children to school would likely lead to an increase in
distances travelled by car, the comparison with Canada would
suggest a likely increase in fatalities. The trends in Japan,
would suggest that at the very least, more injuries would be
expected for the population. In much of Japan, public
transport could offer an alternative to walking or using a car,
and the potential impact on safety would be an important
addition to this area of research. However, public transport is
not typically an option for short trips, as is typical for
elementary schools.
7. Discussion
The differences demonstrated by these two contrasting
approaches to children’s travel relates to recent literature on
traffic fatalities. Reduced exposure (e.g. kilometers travelled
in motor vehicles) is associated with lower fatalities (e.g.
Ewing and Dumbaugh, 2009; Welle et al., 2016). This is the
case for the Japanese children as compared to the Canadian
children. If the WSB can effectively reduce use of motorized
vehicles, it can increase safety. The second key component is
speed (Ewing and Dumbaugh, 2009; Welle et al., 2016; Tefft,
2013; Rosen et al., 2011) as discussed above. Speeds are
generally reduced in built-up areas where streets are “less
forgiving” (for the driver, but not necessarily for pedestrians)
by engineering street design guidelines. However, Canadian
streets tend to follow guidelines for design speed that
recommend designing for speeds higher than the legal speed.
Even residential streets in Canada are quite wide and straight.
This supports and may encourage higher speeds, thus
increasing the distance required to stop and the energy in an
impact, thus making it more dangerous for pedestrians.
Narrow streets, more common in Japan, especially in
residential, built-up areas, do not encourage high speeds. This
may be an additional explanatory factor in the differences
observed.
8. Conclusions
The Japanese system of WSBs was found to have been
formed at a much earlier date than the Anglo-Saxon system
and continues to have high rates of participation. In
comparison to Canada, it can be seen that the fatality rates in
Japan are much lower for elementary school-aged children.
Although a spike occurs in Canada in the morning (likely
associated with the trip to school), no such spike exists for
Japan where the majority of elementary aged children
participated in WSBs. In both countries, it is travel after
school that is associated with more deaths, when WSBs are
less commonly used. For Japan, an increase in VKMT is
associated with an increase in the per capita injury rate, but
very little influence is seen for fatalities. If a reduction in
WSB was to lead to more car use in Japan, than one could
reasonably expect an increase in injuries. If the trend was to
follow the Canadian one, than fatalities may also increase for
the trip to school.
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... The risk of children walking and cycling being involved in accidents may be different between traveling for school commuting purposes (SCP) and traveling for non-school commuting purposes (NSCP). In Japan, children are expected to be safer on the road in SCP than in NSCP, because many elementary schools have adopted a group walking system, called "Shudantogeko", to and from schools, and parents/guardians and district communities provide generous safety support [21,22]. In recent years, several countries, including the United Kingdom, also have begun to implement group walking initiatives, called "Walking bus", to school [21]. ...
... In Japan, children are expected to be safer on the road in SCP than in NSCP, because many elementary schools have adopted a group walking system, called "Shudantogeko", to and from schools, and parents/guardians and district communities provide generous safety support [21,22]. In recent years, several countries, including the United Kingdom, also have begun to implement group walking initiatives, called "Walking bus", to school [21]. Thus, accident risk assessments that take into account the differences between children's travel in SCP and in NSCP are internationally important. ...
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... Observing their children walk to school in the sweltering heat prompted the majority of mothers to send their children to school through personal vehicle rather than on their own. Waygood, Taniguchi, Craig-St-Louis, and Xu (2015) discuss the history and entire walking school bus system in Japan in his study. In fact, the entire system was developed with a well-functioning structure involving many stakeholders, including the school, the parent, and the municipality government. ...
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Walking school buses and bicycle trains are highly favored mobility concepts to promote children’s interest and safety in active travel to/from school, reduce private vehicle dependency and pollution in cities, and promote healthy lifestyles. So far, these supervised and environmentally-friendly modes of transport have been implemented in the Global North. However, the limited research on in-depth algorithms, modeling, mathematical optimization, and policy frameworks for these cleaner and sustainable transport modes is slowing widespread implementation, particularly in the Global South. Based on 49 selected papers, this systematic review elucidates the benefits, implementation challenges, optimization approaches, methodological gaps, and policies toward cleaner production of these transport modes. Reviewers collected relevant papers from the Web of Science, Scopus, Transport Research International Documentation, PubMed, and WorldCat. The results showed that comparatively, there is more research on walking school buses than bicycle trains, and gender-parity and disability research dimensions are non-existent. Methodologically, placement, scheduling, and routing optimization studies require improvement. Additionally, extensive consultations are necessary to formulate standardized guidelines and upgrade infrastructures to stimulate global implementation and adoption. This study explains knowledge gaps and policy ideas for the practical implementation and holistic development of these clean transport modes for schoolchildren.
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The majority of mothers in Japan are not employed outside the home, but their role in chauffeuring and accompanying children on their trips is much less than in Western societies. Cultural expectations and the built environment in the Osaka region of Japan contribute to children as young as 10 and 11 traveling without adult accompaniment for the majority of trips. This independent travel in turn reduces the chauffeuring burden on parents. The chauffeuring of children in the United States and other Western countries is conducted mostly by mothers, but the role of mothers in the travel context of their children’s travel has not been investigated for Japan. Children ages 10 and 11, from nine different schools in varying neighborhoods, were surveyed about their travel by using a child-friendly diary. The survey results show that parents accompanied children for less than 15% of their trips on weekdays, whereas data from the United States indicate that children are accompanied by a parent on more than 65% of weekday trips they make. The average daily travel time was 40 min for children in Japan versus 72 min for their American counterparts, despite a similar number of trips per day. The paper further examines children’s trips with the accompaniment of parents, by sex of parent, by time of day and mode, and by destination. The influence of various built environment measurements and car ownership on accompaniment and the accumulated time burden on parents is also examined. This research contributes to land use planning through examining the built environment and mobility management through discussion on cultural values.
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A decrease in active travel has been observed over the past years in many Western countries including Scotland. A large part of this is likely due to the greater travel distances. However, previous research has suggested that perceptions of one's neighbourhood may also affect walking levels. If parents fear crime or traffic levels, or feel that their neighbourhood is of low quality they may not let their child walk. These perceptions are subjective and may be interlinked to each other. It is important to understand which perceptions matter more than others, in order to design the most suitable policy to promote more active travel behaviour among children. Using the Scottish Household Survey, this study investigates how or whether 48 different perceptions of neighbourhood quality or 11 reasons for having chosen their house affect children walking to school. A variable attrition method was used to reduce the number of variables for modelling. When walking distance, household characteristics, and built environment are included in a binary regression model only two perceptions were found to be significant: good local shops and slow/safe traffic. Implications of the findings are discussed.
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Objective: Injury is the leading cause of death among children and adolescents in Japan. Despite this, until now there has been comparatively little research on this phenomenon. The purpose of this study was to examine if there was seasonal variation in child and adolescent injury mortality in Japan in 2000-2010. Methods: Vital statistics injury mortality data were obtained from the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare of Japan. The seasonality of the major causes of unintentional injury (transport accidents, drowning and suffocation) and intentional injury (suicide and homicide) mortality was examined for children and adolescents aged 0-19. Incidence ratios (IR) with 95% confidence intervals (CI) were calculated to determine the difference between the numbers of observed and expected seasonal deaths. Results: The annual average injury mortality rate among children and adolescents was 9.0 per 100,000. Deaths from transport accidents, drowning, suffocation and suicide had a significant seasonality. There was a summer peak for transport accidents (IR 1.15, 95% CI 1.10-1.19) and drowning (IR 2.00, 95% CI 1.88-2.11), a spring peak for suicide (IR 1.09, 95% CI 1.04-1.14), while the incidence of suffocation was higher in winter (IR 1.12, 95% CI 1.03-1.21). Conclusion: Child and adolescent injury mortality from transport accidents, drowning, suffocation and suicide has a pronounced seasonality in Japan. More research is now needed to find the circumstances underpinning different forms of injury mortality in different periods of the year so that effective interventions can be designed and implemented to reduce the burden of injury mortality among Japanese children.
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Background: Active transportation to school provides an important way for children to meet physical activity recommendations. The "walking school bus" (WSB) is a strategy whereby adults walk with a group of children to and from school along a fixed route. This study assessed whether school-organized WSB programs varied by school characteristics, district policies, and state laws. Methods: School data were gathered by mail-back surveys in nationally representative samples of U.S. public elementary schools during the 2008-2009 and 2009-2010 school years (n = 632 and 666, respectively). Corresponding district policies and state laws were obtained. Results: Nationwide, 4.2% of schools organized a WSB program during 2008-2009, increasing to 6.2% by 2009-2010. Controlling for demographic covariates, schools were more likely to organize a WSB program where there was a strong district policy pertaining to safe active routes to school (OR = 2.14, P < .05), or a state law requiring crossing guards around schools (OR = 2.72, P < .05). Conclusions: WSB programs are not common but district policies and state laws are associated with an increased likelihood of elementary schools organizing these programs. Policymaking efforts may encourage schools to promote active transportation.
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Incidental community connections are important for children’s travel in several ways. If known people are present in the community, this reduces parental anxiety about letting their children travel independently. Seeing people while travelling can lead to improved social capital and contribute to a child’s social well-being. However, the relationship between modes of travel and seeing people, known or otherwise, has not previously been empirically studied. A unique survey conducted in the Osaka Metropolitan Area allows for examining potential correlations between seeing a known person while travelling between origin and destination with: mode, gender, independent travel, and the built environment. For the built environment, a global value of the daily percentage of seeing a known person while travelling is used. For the remaining considerations, individual trips not to school and connected to the child’s place of residence were used. Findings include: travelling by car is strongly negatively correlated with seeing people, while travelling by foot or independently are positively correlated with seeing a known person. The built environments that were more conducive to car travel (autonomous town & car-oriented mixed residential) had lower percentages of seeing a known person.
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Purpose ‐ The wide ranging physical and mental health benefits of physical activity during adolescence are well established and walking has been identified as one of only two forms of physical activity not to show a significant decrease in participation levels across the primary/secondary years. The aim of this paper is to explore the broader context in which adolescent girls walk and to investigate their walking behaviours, experiences and attitudes. Design/methodology/approach ‐ Focus groups discussions and a mapping exercise were carried out with 27 adolescent girls from one urban and one rural school in Scotland. Findings ‐ Key themes identified focussed on current walking behaviours (e.g. type/purpose), physical environmental (e.g. safety, aesthetics), social environmental (e.g. family/friends) and individual (e.g. motivations, beliefs) factors. Walking was a popular activity among urban and rural girls, although areas in which walking took place, and reasons for walking could differ between geographical locations. Social influences were dominant, regardless of location, and often took precedence over other influencing factors. Walking was acknowledged as being good for health, but rarely a primary reason for choosing to walk. In general, walking was a consequence of meeting up with others, or an opportunity to be with friends. Research limitations/implications ‐ Findings are limited to Scottish girls aged 11-14 years in one urban and rural location. Further research involving greater numbers of participants are required to broaden understanding. Practical implications ‐ Social aspects associated with walking are a key influence. Walking behaviours may take different forms depending on geographical location. Public health interventions need to adapt to match the variety of opportunities for walking. Originality/value ‐ These pilot study findings have the potential to inform further research as well as context-specific interventions aimed at increasing and maintaining walking among adolescent girls.
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Using a series of conventional large-scale household travel surveys conducted in the Osaka metropolitan area of Japan in 1980, 1990 and 2000 this study examines the mechanisms underlying children’s activity and travel engagements and how these mechanisms have changed over time. The results from a structural equation model show that, in the last two decades, children’s trip patterns in the Osaka metropolitan area have become more efficient through greater trip chaining. At the same time, the results also show that boys have become less mobile and their non-school activities tend to be in fewer locations than those of girls. Further, Japanese boys are the ones who travelled by car more frequently than girls. Denser built environments, accessibility by rail transport, and a higher number of school trips have constantly reduced the amount of children’s private car trips in the last three decades. Moreover, private car availability did not significantly increase the amount of children trip chaining in any observed year. This finding goes against the commonly held belief that public transport is less suitable for trip chaining. This is presumably due to the travel environment created by the well developed transit networks and dense land use in the study area.
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Understanding the thoughts of contemporary children about travel and their opinions on different transport modes of transport may provide important answers for policy-makers on how to respond to current and future transport needs of children. Obviously, children do not act autonomously and their travel behaviours also strongly influence their parents’ travel behaviours. Therefore, a better understanding of children’s travel behaviours seems necessary.This paper reports the results of a large-scale, self-reporting survey (N=2546) that was conducted to examine the concept and meaning of travel and travel behaviour of children aged between 10 and 13years in Flanders. It was found that children are able to complete a travel diary on their own, that their travel patterns differ and that the most important part of travelling for them is the social aspect.