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Charlotte Otter/Sustrans ©2015, all rights reserved. Children travelling to school in Bo’ness.
We’ve been talking about the health benefits of active travel for some time now. We’ve also been measuring how children make their journey to school for the past nine years.
Now, our colleagues in NHS Public Health will start using this data for a new children and young people’s health profile. And we’re delighted!
From today, the Scottish Public Health Observatory (ScotPHO) will use our Hands Up Scotland Survey (HUSS) data as part of their new children and young people’s health profile.
The profile brings together data from a wide variety of sources on how safe, healthy, achieving, nurtured, active, respected, responsible and included children in Scotland are.
HUSS data from 2008 to 2016 will be used to illustrate and monitor how physically active Scottish children are. Using our data, which is an official statistic in Scotland, shows how important the journey to school is for a child.
Not only is it a daily chance to be physically active, but is it a way of positively contributing towards their health and wellbeing.
The Scottish Public Health Observatory Online Profiles Tool, incorporates the seven SHANARRI indicators (Safe, Healthy, Acheiving, Nurtured, Active, Respected, Responsible, Included) from Getting It Right for Every Child (GIRFEC), a national approach to improving outcomes and supporting well-being of children in Scotland.
By including HUSS in the suite of profiles, service providers, planners and policy makers will be able to use nationally comparable information to improve their understanding of health issues relating to the people of Scotland.
It also gives users the opportunity to set these issues in a national context and to take action to improve the health of communities. The data in the new profile will be of interest to and used by all those working to improve the health and wellbeing of children and young people in Scotland.
Travelling half an hour on foot or by bike to school every day meets the Chief Medical Officer’s recommendation for daily physical activity.
And it’s great for our Education and Young People team here at Sustrans Scotland to see how the benefits of active travel to school are now not just being recognised in terms of transport and education, but also being considered and measured in terms of people’s health.
We’re pleased that this is being recognised by ScotPHO and using HUSS data as a useful measure of how active children in Scotland are. While participatory sports are great, they aren’t for everyone. Meanwhile, most children have to get to and back from school every day. Making that journey by foot or by bike is an inclusive and accessible way for them to become healthier and develop healthy habits for life.
People walking and cycling, Castle Park in Bristol
Traffic free path for cycling and walking in York
Car use has negative impacts on public health through road traffic accidents, air pollution and physical inactivity. The car’s contribution to the first two of these problems is relatively well recognised and understood, but inactivity is less well understood.
Getting people to walk, cycle and make greater use of public transport therefore has benefits for health. But how do we make it happen? What do we know from the scientific literature about what happens when we change the places where we live in order to influence our choices about how to travel?
There are many ways to intervene to change travel behaviours; some with lots of evidence and some with little or no evidence. I’ve been involved in three studies in this area in the last few years which aim to provide more of that objective evidence.
These studies focus on cycling initiatives, the impact of new routes for walking and cycling, and new transport systems.
Using routinely collected data from the English Census, we were able to assess the impact of town-wide cycling initiatives in 18 towns. We compare areas which received the initiatives (designated as Cycling Demonstration Towns and Cycling Cities and Towns) to those who didn’t receive the initiatives. All towns used a mixture of capital investment (e.g. cycle lanes) and revenue investment (e.g. cycle training), tailored to each town. We found:
Our analysis from the iConnect study used self-reported data on walking, cycling and physical activity to assess the impact of new, high-quality, traffic-free cycling and walking routes in Cardiff, Kenilworth and Southampton. 1700 residents who lived within 5km of the new routes were surveyed before and after the opening of the infrastructure in 2010, 2011 and 2012. We found:
A new state-of-the-art guided busway was constructed in Cambridgeshire and opened in 2011. We used this opportunity to assess its impact on travel in Cambridge using data from annual surveys from 2009 to 2012. Whether or not the busway proved to be a supportive environment for being active on the commute varied for different individuals. Nevertheless, overall:
Jenna is a Senior Research Associate in the Physical Activity and Public Health group at the Centre for Diet and Activity Research (CEDAR). Her current research focuses on examining patterns and determinants of change in physical activity, evaluating environmental and policy interventions and evidence synthesis. If you want to find out more about the work of the Physical Activity and Public Health, please have a look at our webpage.
CEDAR is studying the factors that influence diet and physical activity behaviours, developing and shaping interventions, and helping shape public health policy and practice. It is of one of five Centres of Excellence in Public Health Research funded through the UK Clinical Research Collaboration (UKCRC).
This blog is based on the evidence briefing on this topic. A copy of the evidence brief is available here: http://www.cedar.iph.cam.ac.uk/resources/evidence/eb-15-changing-travel/
Lynn Sloman: Growing cycling in cities: Lessons from the Cycling City and Towns programme
Dr Andy Cope: Investing in cycling in towns and cities works
Evaluation of the Cycling City and Towns and the Cycling Demonstration Towns programmes
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Half of all cyclists would change their route in order to travel through parks or green areas
Cycling can halve the risk of cancer and heart disease
From the moment we leave home and go on our journey to the shops, work or school, we use roads and paths that were established as a result of historical demand for travel.
The more desired a route is, the more likely it is that it has been turned into a main road, and with increasing traffic, lanes have been added, junctions signalised and going along or across that road has become a highly regulated process.
Cars have to stop at signals to give way to other vehicles going in perpendicular direction, pedestrians press buttons and wait for a ‘green man’ to show. The more demand there is to use a given connection, the more capacity is added and in effect more people come to live and work in areas served by that road, thus inducing even more demand.
No matter which form of surface transport we use, be it walking, cycling, driving or taking a bus, we all share the road with others and the air on many of these roads is becoming more polluted.
Research from Australia and the US shows that cycling on the busiest roads can lead to higher inhalation of air pollutants in some instances. Although it is worth noting that the lung function results indicate that elevated pollutant exposure may not have acute negative effects on healthy cyclists.
The US study researchers conclude that by selecting low-traffic Bicycle Boulevards instead of heavily trafficked roads, cyclists can reduce their exposure to vehicle-related air pollution.
Similarly, the Australian study concluded that for bicycle commuting at peak times, the health risk may be substantially reduced by decreasing proximity to motorised traffic, which should be considered by both bicycle commuters and urban planners.
Proximity to traffic is clearly a factor affecting one’s exposure to pollution, but how far from traffic do you need to be to see a beneficial health benefit?
One study says that the concentration of black carbon (by-product of the incomplete combustion of fuel that contains very fine carcinogenic particles that are especially harmful to health as they can move through and beyond the pulmonary system) decreases by 2.5% with every five meters in distance from the nearest traffic lane. The concentration of pollutants is especially high around junctions where drivers apply breaks and then rapidly accelerate.
Similarly, studies of air quality on low traffic routes indicate that pollution peaks appear where the route intersects with roads carrying large volumes of cars.
Cycle paths (understood as off-road infrastructure away from all traffic) on average have 12% fewer crossings with roads than on other types of routes. NO2, an air pollutant with negative effects on health, concentrations on city bike lanes, compared to off-road bike paths, has been found to be over 30% higher, and cyclists in bus lanes risk exposure up to 60% higher than on off-road cycle paths.
Despite the above, it is important to note that the health benefits of cycling anywhere is the UK still outweigh exposure costs. The biggest study into the link of cycling and health shows that using two wheels can halve the risk of cancer and heart disease providing a clear evidence that people who commute in an active way stay healthier.
This takes us to an obvious conclusion – cycling is good for you, and it’s even better when we have more convenient access to, and better connections between, all the infrastructure not used by heavy traffic that we may already have in our cities. Examples include canal paths and parkways that attract leisure cyclists. Whilst off-road cycle paths may not provide the most direct route, they offer a pleasant and enjoyable experience.’
Traditional transport modelling techniques typically encourage us to plan routes from A to B along the quickest path. This approach may overlook journeys which are not so time-sensitive and have additional motivations, such as relaxation or fitness.
Research into cyclists’ route choice preferences shows that around half of all cyclists would change their route in order to travel through parks or green areas. That is especially true for novice cyclists and women. Clearly, if we want more people cycling, we need to support these underrepresented groups who may not have the confidence to cycle on main roads.
An interesting finding came from a survey that asked how much people are willing to extend their journeys just to cycle away from main traffic. It found that cycling on an off-road path is worth, on average, 3.17 minutes for every 1 minute spent with traffic. That’s over 300% preference. It gets more striking when looking only at females with reported 5.19 minutes and a massive 7.2 minutes for least regular cyclists.
The willingness to trade off time for cycling away from main roads could be explained in light of the increased perceived safety and convenience of these cycle paths.
With many journeys being less time-sensitive than commuting and knowing that even commuters are willing to extend their journeys (and are prepared to use a noticeably longer route) is an indication that there is a need for more sophisticated planning of cycling infrastructure and a greater mix of off-road and on road routes.
At Sustrans we work closely with partners and communities so that people have access to a network of safe routes and better places to move around, live, work and play.
Generally speaking, it is much easier to implement improvements and increase accessibility of off-road infrastructure and add signage and markings to calm streets than is it to change main roads.
To test this in a real life scenario, I ran a network assignment model for commuter journeys in Newcastle-Upon-Tyne.
My model excluded all major roads (primary, secondary and tertiary roads) and any other links within 25 meters (i.e. segregated cycle path running in parallel right next to a main road). I also added a preference for traveling on cycleways and paths, with the least preferred option being cycling on residential streets.
Having all major roads removed from the network, there was no option for the model to route journeys even on the shortest bits of road carrying traffic of any significance, so all journeys were completely carried on off-road paths and calm streets.These route options present clear opportunities for increasing share of cycling in Newcastle’s modal split without disruptions to the city’s logistics during construction of segregated facilities and not exposing final users to pollution from heavy traffic going in the same corridors.
Implementation of these schemes would have narrower impacts, but they are more likely to be quickly delivered and bring immediate benefits to local communities.
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Sustrans Bike It Festival, Lee Valley Velopark, London 2016. Image credit Jonathan Bewley
Launch of Bike It in York, 10 years ago
Bike It, our flagship active travel programme for schools, celebrates its 10th anniversary this year. To date, we have worked with more than 2,000 schools across the UK, helping children build walking and cycling into their everyday school journey and instill a love of activity in them.
Bike It (please note in Scotland it’s called iBike and in Northern Ireland it’s called Active Travel to Schools) is designed to enable more pupils, parents and teachers to walk and cycle to school by building their skills and confidence, encouraging greater road awareness, and highlighting safer routes to school.
The programme is run by our schools officers who are experts in getting children to walk, cycle or scoot the school journey.
Here are 10 things they’ve learnt:
Although our target year groups are still KS2 (pupils aged 7-11) in primary schools, we have developed more activities to engage and develop the skills of younger pupils. For example, our Ditch the Stabilisers sessions, which teach children how to cycle independently, have become one of the most popular activities we offer in schools. Children who cycle to school from a young age are more likely to sustain this behaviour as they become older. Ditch the Stabilisers or Learn to Ride sessions are also a great way to raise awareness of Sustrans with parents and carers, and to gain their support for other activities we organise at the school.
Park and stride/ride are a great way to involve families who need to rely on the car for part of the journey. Walking or cycling part of the way is a great way to get started, as these often become full walking or cycling journeys.
Balance bikes allow pupils to meet so many of the early years’ physical development standards as laid out by the Department for Education, they really should be standard equipment across all schools. Sustrans has supported the provision of more than 100 balance bikes in Bedfordshire alone.
We know more needs to be done. We know young people want to cycle to school but safe routes are the main barrier. We are working with communities to help redesign the space outside schools. This is vital to truly transform how young people get to school.
In order to create real change, we need to engage the whole family; that includes parents too. Through Our Bike It You Can Too project in London, and other similar projects across the country we’ve been giving families, particularly mums, the skills and confidence to cycle. This also creates wider benefits by encouraging families to be active together.
Bike It has evolved in different parts of the country to meet local needs and priorities. We work differently in large cities in comparison to our approach with rural populations.
We also work in partnership with organisations such as Modeshift, Bikeability providers and Living Streets, so we can have the biggest impact.
We are now more aware of all the benefits of getting pupils to walk, cycle and scoot to school can bring. We’ve always known travelling this way helps young people get active and improves congestion by reducing car trips. Now, we know walking and cycling to and from school reduces emissions and helps improve air quality, as well as having a positive impact on children’s wellbeing, resilience and life skills.
Our surveys show 75% of pupils would travel actively if they had the choice. Our work is all about enabling schoolchildren to travel the way they want to.
We’re encouraging young people not only to cycle but to walk, scoot, skate or park and stride/ride. Promoting all forms of active travel means our work in schools is now more inclusive, more accessible, improves engagement with younger children and parents, and ultimately leads to more people travelling in ways that benefit their health and the environment.
School officers are our most valuable asset. We know trust is the foundation of an excellent school engagement programme and we establish it as quickly as possible. We do this through communicating clearly what we deliver, and then achieving this to the quality standard of the school and the Funder.
The evidence shows Bike It has had a massive impact. Through our well designed, creative and innovative school programmes we have doubled the number of pupils cycling to school.
In 2015/16 we increased the number of pupils travelling to school on foot, by bike or by scooter. We grew the number of pupils cycling to school to 8.5%, representing an 88% increase on the previous year. We also reduced the number of pupils travelling by car by 14%.
The number of pupils travelling by bike to schools working with Sustrans is five times more than the national average. (Sustrans Hands Up Surveys England and Wales 2015/16).
We continue calling on governments across the UK to work in partnership with us to increase our scale and impact to enable more children to walk and cycle. We want to work with more children, teachers and parents to transform the school run.
With thanks to:
Alister Barclay, Schools Officer, Dunstable
Richard Noon, Bike It Officer Luton
Beth Harding and the Active Travel Schools team in Northern Ireland
Rowan Wilson, Delivery Coordinator East of England
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