Research Impact: As part of the Built Environment and Active Transport to School (BEATS) study, we compared parental perceptions of walking versus cycling to school in adolescents in Dunedin, New Zealand and examined whether mode-specific barriers differ by distance to school. Parents favoured walking compared to cycling to school regardless of distance. However, parental attitudes for both modes changed with increasing distance to school. Notably, personal, environmental and safety-related barriers became more pronounced with distance and support for active transport decreased with increasing distance to school. The findings illustrate the importance of addressing parental concerns, considering the specificity of walking and cycling, and taking into account distance to school in initiatives to encourage active transport to school.
Mandic S., Hopkins D., Bengoechea E.G., Flaherty C., Coppell K., Moore A., Williams J., & Spence J.C. (2020). Differences in parental perceptions of walking and cycling to high school according to distance. Transportation Research Part F: Traffic Psychology and Behaviour, 71, 238-249. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.trf.2020.04.013
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