New study on children's travel habits to school

How children travel to school is influenced by factors such as distance, the traffic environment, access to public transport, and access to a car or bicycle. Children’s travel is also often shaped by the complex logistics of family life, where work, school and leisure activities need to be coordinated. National surveys show that children in Sweden are increasingly being driven to school by car, while cycling to school has decreased by around 48 percent since the 1980s/1990s and in 2024 was at its lowest level since the Swedish Transport Administration began its measurements in 2000 (Swedish Transport Administration, Attitydundersökning Barns skolvägar 2024; SOU 2023:29, Varje rörelse räknas).

Transport Analysis summarises the development as being driven primarily by perceived shortcomings in road safety and changing social norms, rather than by increasing distances to school. This development means that children miss out on an important part of their daily physical activity, which may contribute to more sedentary behaviour, poorer health and reduced independence. Increased car travel to school also contributes to more traffic, noise and air pollution around schools and may at the same time reinforce the perception that the journey to school is unsafe for walking and cycling.

The project studies På egna ben, Västtrafik’s five-week initiative aimed at encouraging more pupils in grades 4–6 to walk, cycle or use public transport to school. More than 450 classes from Västra Götaland, Halland and Skåne are taking part in this year’s programme. The initiative encourages children to walk, cycle and use public transport, giving them an opportunity to try new ways of travelling in everyday life.

The research project examines:

• the short- and long-term effects of the initiative on children’s travel to school and leisure activities;
• whether changes in children’s travel affect the travel habits of parents and other family members;
• how parents’ attitudes towards children’s active and independent mobility change;
• what barriers and opportunities families experience in relation to walking, cycling and using public transport more often.

Following families over time

The study combines surveys and interviews. Families’ travel habits are measured at three points in time: before the campaign in autumn 2026, immediately after the campaign, and approximately one year later. A control group of families not participating in På egna ben is followed over the same period. In addition, interviews are conducted with parents to gain a deeper understanding of issues including safety, everyday logistics, habits and social norms.

The project aims to provide better knowledge about how, and under what conditions, initiatives of this kind can lead to lasting changes in travel behaviour. An important part of the study is to investigate whether changes in a child’s journey to school also affect other trips made by the family, such as travel to leisure activities and parents’ commuting. The results can provide a basis for designing and scaling up future initiatives that promote active and independent mobility among children.