The role of parental involvement and gender on travel mode decisions to School in Bali, Indonesia

Adolescence is marked by exploratory, risk-taking behaviours and gender-specific challenges that often involve parental involvement in travel decisions. This study examines the interplay between parental influence, gender, and travel mode choice in shaping school travel behaviours by analysing data from 2402 adolescents aged 12–18 in Bali, Indonesia. Explanatory factor analysis (EFA) was used to identify underlying latent constructs related to travel attitudes, and a multinomial logit (MNL) model was estimated to analyse the probability of choosing different travel modes while accounting for parental involvement, gender, and other individual-level characteristics. The findings show that grade, gender, school location, mode availability, parents' employment status, family income, and parental involvement influence travel mode decisions. The majority (55.62 %) of adolescents make travel decisions jointly with parents, with parental influence being more substantial in junior high school. Despite perceiving motorcycles as less safe than other modes, senior high school students are more likely to use these private vehicles. In particular, Boys prefer motorcycles as they are persuasive in convincing parents to grant them access, especially in areas with little societal pressure against underage driving. In contrast, girls are more likely to be escorted, aligning with parental preferences to avoid unsafe motorcycle use. Moreover, when parents are the primary decision-makers, gender differences in travel choices diminish as safety concerns take precedence, discouraging private vehicle use. These findings underscore the need for enforcing legal driving age limits, particularly during the transition to senior high school. Addressing this issue requires harmonising transport and school policies, strengthening traffic law enforcement, providing safer travel alternatives, ensuring secure school routes, and increasing parental oversight. • Older students are more likely to prefer private vehicles. • Parental travel decisions prioritise safety over gender differences. • Girls are often escorted, unlike boys, who travel alone more frequently. • Girls adopt parental travel preferences more than boys.