Heterogeneity in distance elasticity of active travel to school

Children's active transport to school has multiple health, social, economic, and environmental benefits, and the literature on ways to support children’s active accessibility is vast. The consistent conclusion from this research is that the distance between home and school is a key determinant of whether a child will walk or cycle to and from the school gate. While distance is undoubtedly of central importance to the active school travel puzzle, our understanding of children’s sensitivity to increases in distance remains nascent. How far is too far when it comes to active school access? Using survey data from 6,629 school students in Australia, this paper explores this question through a nuanced focus on the sensitivity of active transport to school (ATS) to changes in trip distance. More specifically, a multinomial logistic regression model is used to analyze the heterogeneity of elasticity to distance, and the nature of the relationship between distance elasticity and land-use and demographic segments. The findings confirm existing understandings that distance and local land use are significant factors associated with ATS. By using a piecewise treatment of distance and estimating point elasticities, the model also shows that mode-choice sensitivity to distance varies across places and populations and is itself non-linear. The turning point of the multinomial logistic regression function with respect to distance is between 1 km and 3 km, indicating that a percentage increase in distance within this range is most likely to deter active school travel. This novel finding provides much-needed clarity to existing understandings of the sensitivity of ATS to distance. Such understandings are central to policy aspirations seeking to design school catchments with active accessibility as a desired outcome.