Learner travel behaviour and parent attitudes towards the use of non-motorised modes: finding of school travel surveys in Cape Town

Abstract

Paper presented at the 30th Annual Southern African Transport Conference 11-14 July 2011 "Africa on the Move", CSIR International Convention Centre, Pretoria, South Africa.

Thrs paper reports upon school travel surveys conducted in 2010 aimed at collecting the data required to develop, implement and monitor 'walking buses' in selected primary schools in two neighbourhoods of Cape Town (Rondebosch and Delft). A 'walking bus' is a group of children who walk to school along a set route, supervised by adult volunteers. The selected schools in Rondebosch and Delft draw learners from households with a wide range of income levels. Self-completion questionnaire surveys (Rondebosch, n=1,075; Delft, n=709) were conducted to gauge parents' interest in 'walking buses', and to create a database of potential 'walking bus' participants. The key findings of the surveys are discussed in terms of the insights they provide on how learners currently travel to and from school, and on the willingness of parents to either allow their children to participate in 'walking buses' or volunteer themselves to supervise learner 'walking bus' groups. The mode share of car use in Rondebosch schools was found to be 90% to and 88% from school, while in Delft schools walking was found to be the dominant travel mode (91% to and 86% from school). It was found that 51% and 41% of parents are willing to permit their children to participate in a 'walking bus', while 16% and 17% of parents are willing to volunteer to supervise 'walking buses', in Delft and Rondebosch respectively. The paper concludes with a discussion on the prospects for promoting greater and safer walking to school in Cape Town schools. On the basis of survey findings and early trials, it is concluded that 'walking buses' present a viable intervention in the study neighbourhoods.