1.0 Background
Children’s cycling habits are at the nexus of two pressing policy concerns: health promotion and sustainable mobility. Cycling to school can have a positive effect on children’s daily physical activity levels (Cooper et al, 2005). However, the past half century has seen a sharp decline in the number of children either walking or cycling to school (Goodman et al, 2019). Children’s active transportation to school in England, and particularly in Scotland and Wales, ranks well below many other countries in Europe (Active Healthy Kids Global Alliance, 2022) and figures from the UK National Travel Survey indicate that the number of children aged 5–15 in the UK that either walked or cycled to school has declined from 67% (63% walking, 4% cycling) in 1975/76 to 47% (44% walking, 3% cycling) in 2023 (Department of Transport, 2023; Goodman et al, 2019). While levels of cycling to school are low, there is evidence to suggest that children do want to cycle to school (Glasgow Centre for Population Health, 2011; Larouche et al, 2016) and in recent years there has been an increased focus on cycling not just for children but in the general population in government policy in the UK and beyond. In 2017, the UK government’s Cycling and Walking Investment strategy pledged to provide cycle training opportunities for all children and provide better links to schools by 2040 (Department of Transport, 2017). In the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic, the UK government launched Gear Change, a plan to create cleaner, healthier, safer streets, to make cycling and walking more accessible and prioritise cycling and walking infrastructure in transport policy and planning (Department of Transport, 2020). The report of the House of Commons Committee of Public Accounts (2023), however, identified that the government will not achieve the targets set out in Gear Change despite significant public funding for active travel infrastructure. Concerns with promoting safe cycling is echoed in the 2023 European Union Declaration on Cycling (European Commission, 2023), the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Transport and Sustainable Development (2021) and the United Nations Regional Information Centre for Western Europe (2024).
Research into active school transport has grown considerably in recent years and has been the focus of several systematic reviews (Aranda-Balboa et al, 2020; Chillón et al, 2011; Herrero et al, 2021; Jones et al, 2019; Lu et al, 2014; Villa-González et al, 2018). However, a lot of the studies in this area have analysed cycling in combination with walking, and given that walking and cycling are two different behaviours with differing influencing factors, research should focus on these separately (Lu et al, 2014; Savolainen et al, 2024). Also, evidence suggests that there are country specific factors that influence active transport choices (Haug et al, 2021). For example, a study exploring 12-year trends in active transport to school across four European countries, showed children in Norway and the Czech Republic were more likely to actively travel to and from school in comparison to two UK nations (Scotland and Wales), with distance to school, age, gender and family affluence being of varying importance in different countries (Haug et al, 2021).
To enable the development of effective interventions that will increase the levels of children cycling to school, it is important to understand the factors that prevent or facilitate this behaviour (Lu et al, 2014; Savolainen et al, 2024). Previous research in this area have framed these factors as personal, social, and environmental barriers and facilitators (Aranda-Balboa et al, 2020; Lu et al, 2014; Savolainen et al, 2024) but with limited attention to how these interact. An emerging theoretical framework within active transport research is the Capabilities Approach (CA) (Sen and Nussbaum, 1993). The CA focuses on what a person can “be and do”, or capabilities, and the complex ways in which different personal, social, and environmental factors interweave to affect achievement of these. CA encourages a focus beyond the distribution of economic goods or resources, towards consideration of conversion factors, that is what conditions actually enable individuals to use resources to achieve their goals (Pereira, Schwanen and Banister, 2017).
In this review we adopt a capabilities approach to analysing existing literature because CA is at the forefront of growing theoretically informed studies that are trying to understand transport justice (Van Burgsteden, Grigolon and Geurs, 2024; Verlinghieri and Schwanen, 2020), but there is need for more research using CA to analyse children’s mobility (Humberto et al, 2020). CA can recognise children as competent social actors, as well as revealing the complex state-driven and societal factors that impact upon their lives and desires for independent mobility (Humberto et al, 2020; Larkins, del Moral Espín and Stoecklin, 2023) and CA has been adapted and applied in previous studies that have explored adult cycling and active transport (Mandic et al, 2015; Sherriff et al, 2020).
This systematic review aims to identify the barriers and facilitators for cycling to school for children in the UK.
2.0 Methods
This systematic review was conducted in accordance with the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analysis (PRISMA) 2020 checklist and reporting standards (Page et al, 2021). In adherence with PRISMA guidelines and to increase visibility, transparency and reproducibility of this work, the protocol was registered on PROSPERO (registration number: CRD42021268142) (Boland et al, 2021) prior to commencing the review.
2.1 Search strategy
Seven electronic databases (Ovid Medline, Ovid Embase, CINAHL Complete, PsychInfo, Social Care Online, SocIndex and Web of Science) were searched on 16 August 2023. Key words for database searches were as follows: (child* OR youth OR adolescen* OR kid OR kids OR girl* OR boy* OR teen* OR “young people” OR “young person” OR student or pupil*) AND (school OR schools OR academy OR education) AND (“active transport*” OR “active commuting” OR “school journey” OR “journey to school” or “school travel planning” OR cycle OR cycling OR bicycl* OR bike OR biking) (see Supplementary Material for the search strategies used for each database). Grey literature was also included from internet searches, including Google, the Department of Transport, SUSTRANS, Cycling.uk, and the National Institute of Health and Clinical Excellence. To search for grey literature, phrases such as “cycling to school” and outcomes such as “barriers” and “facilitators” were used in combination. Searches in Google were limited to the first 100 results. Forwards and backwards citations were also carried out on included studies and relevant papers.
2.2 Eligibility criteria
Primary studies using any quantitative or qualitative designs were included that identified facilitators or barriers for children and young people (aged 5–16) cycling to school. Studies that had an adult population were only included if the adults were part of a family unit or if the results were in relation to children and young people. We only included studies that were focussed on cycling to school as a setting and excluded studies that related to cycling to destinations other than school (see Table 1). Only studies published in English language and conducted in the UK (i.e., England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland (NI)) were included. In relation to studies that focussed on walking and cycling, we only included those that analysed walking and cycling separately and provided barriers and/or facilitators specifically in relation to cycling to school. We only included research published in 2010 in accordance with changes in UK legislation to promote active transportation and cycling (Department of Transport, 2010; Department of Transport, 2017; Public Health England, 2014). We excluded editorials, opinion pieces, commentaries, protocols, reviews, and erratum.
Inclusion and exclusion criteria based on the components of the PICO.
| Inclusion criteria | Exclusion criteria | |
| Population | Children and young people (aged 5–16) Parents, families, school staff and travel advisors who discussed children cycling to school. | Studies focussing on adult cyclists only |
| Intervention | Studies involving cycling to school | Studies that relate to cycling to destinations other than school |
| Comparator | Studies where children cycled to school are compared to those who do not. | |
| Outcome | Factors in the form of barriers and/or facilitators relating to children cycling to and from school. |
2.3 Study selection
Identified papers/articles were downloaded to EndNote and duplicates removed. The remaining sources were then exported into Rayyan where further duplicates undetected by EndNote were removed prior to title and abstract screening (see Figure 1). At the start of the title and abstract screening stage, 20% of the papers were screened independently by five reviewers (CL, DC, KT, PB, RN) and any conflicts were discussed. Inter-rater reliability (IRR) was recorded at all stages. At the title and abstract screening stage, IRR was above 90%. The remaining 80% of papers/articles were allocated to three reviewers (KT, PB, RN) to be screened independently.
PRISMA diagram.
During the full text screening stage all identified papers were sourced. Full text screening was conducted in two phases. An initial screening phase was conducted where full texts were checked for country of study origin, only studies conducted in the UK were retained and continued to full text screening. Prior to commencing full text screening, a calibration of screening decisions was conducted, 32% of all included papers were screened by three reviewers (KT, PB, RN). Reasons for exclusion at this stage are noted in the Prisma Flow diagram (Figure 1). The remaining 68% of papers/articles were screened by at least two reviewers. Any conflicts in decisions were discussed, and agreement made by consensus, involving a third reviewer where needed. IRR for full text screening was 90%.
2.4 Data extraction
Data from all selected papers/articles were extracted using a data extraction sheet co-created and piloted by the reviewers using Microsoft Excel. Extracted data from each paper/article included study characteristics such as study design, setting and country, Participant characteristics, including sample size, age, the prevelance of children that cycled to school, and data on any reported barriers and facilitators to children cycling to school. Data extraction was conducted by five reviewers (JW, KT, MA, PB, RN) independently and once sufficient agreement (>80%) was reached in the test phase, all five reviewers independently extracted data from the remaining studies (Daudt, Van Mossel and Scott, 2013). Any disagreements between the reviewers completing the data extraction were resolved through discussion.
2.5 Data analysis
Key information about the study (i.e., sample size) and population (e.g., the ages of the children involved) and the prevalence of children cycling to school were extracted from studies and data was provided in a table to describe and compare the studies. Information was then summarised narratively. A thematic analysis was then performed enabling facilitators and barriers to be extracted and categorised in relation to reported personal, social and environmental themes (Sherriff et al, 2020).
In addition, we used CA – a capabilities approach (Sen and Nussbaum, 1993) to understand the interweaving of these themes. CA is a way of focussing on what people are doing or being, and the wide-ranging factors that influence an individual’s capabilities to be or do things that are valued (Sen, 2001). These factors that affect individual’s capabilities include an individual’s access to resources (example a cycle), and conditions that enable resources to be used effectively. These conditions, referred to as conversion factors, are often characterised as personal, social, and environmental. As Robeyns (2017) summarises, personal conversion factors are internal to people, so may include skills, attitudes and physical attributes (for example, knowing how to cycle and being fit enough to do so). Social conversion factors include social norms and attitudes and practices that, for example, perpetuate discrimination, but also public policies and economic conditions (for example, policies and investments that promote cycling). Environmental conversion factors relate to the physical infrastructure and environment but also factors such as climate and pollution (for example, air which is clean enough to breath to enable cycling). Digital environments and the quality of physical environments in terms of what they afford, are both also relevant aspects of environmental conversion factors (Van Burgsteden, Grigolon and Geurs, 2024). Thinking about conversion factors, then enables our understanding of how, for example, issues that other articles have reported as “personal” and that might be reported in the present review as within the personal theme, are at the same time inseparable from social and/or environmental factors.
When considering children, the personal conversion factors of other people and social factors are of particular significance, as children are economically and socially situated in dependent and interdependent relationships (Cockburn, 1998). As Sen (2001) describes, even at a most basic level of the capability to live, children’s mortality rates are directly related to the conditions that their mother’s experience. Sen (2001) also points to the fact that children’s functionings are affected by the extent to which social responsibility towards children is embraced. In the context of the present study, this interdependence might be seen, for example, in the combined significance of a child’s ownership of a commodity (a cycle) together with a parent’s personal conversion factor (the confidence to cycle) supporting a child’s freedom to cycle to school. Applying CA, then, allows us to understand children’s cycling practice in the context of existing distributions of commodities and the personal, social, and environmental conversion factors that shape their freedom to make choices about if, when and how to cycle to school. It also encourages us to raise questions about the intertwined role of state, civil society, friends and families and potential implications for policy making (Van Burgsteden, Grigolon and Geurs, 2024).
2.6 Critical appraisal
Five authors independently assessed the quality of included papers/articles (JW, KT, MA, PB, RN). Inter-rater reliability was also recorded here and an IRR of 90% was achieved. The Mixed Methods Appraisal Tool (MMAT) (Hong et al, 2018; Pace et al, 2012) was used to assess study quality. Using a five-point checklist, the MMAT is specifically designed to appraise both qualitative, quantitative, and mixed methods studies (Hong et al, 2018; Pace et al, 2012).
3.0 Results
A total of 18,398 records were identified through database searches. A total of 7,702 were removed due to duplication. Following title and abstract screening 118 records were retained. After an initial screening at the full text screening phase (screening for country of study origin) resulted in the retention of 62 potentially relevant sources for the second phrase of full text screening. Grey literature sources found via websites and citation searching identified 619 records and 42 articles were retrieved for full text screening. In the second phase of full text screening, inclusion decisions were made using the full inclusion/exclusion criteria and 16 sources were included in the review. Due to the mix of both peer-reviewed papers and grey literature sources, from here on, all sources will be referred to as papers/articles, unless discussing specific characteristics such as study design.
3.1 Characteristics of included papers/articles
The characteristics of the included papers/articles are presented in Table 2. The papers/articles were published between 2010 and 2023. Eight of the papers/articles used quantitative designs (Benson and Scriven, 2012; Department for Regional Development, 2015; Page et al, 2010; Panter et al, 2010a; Panter et al, 2010b; Roth, Millett and Mindell, 2012; Teyhan et al, 2016), four used a qualitative design (de Aguiar Greca, Korff and Ryan, 2023; Fasan, Tight and Evdorides, 2021; Glasgow Centre for Population Health, 2013; Goodman, Van Sluijs and Ogilvie, 2016; Scottish Government, 2017) and four papers/articles used mixed methods (Atkins Limited, 2010; Christie et al, 2011; Moore et al, 2014; Shared Intelligence Limited, 2013). Eleven papers/articles were from peer-reviewed journals (Benson and Scriven, 2012; Christie et al, 2011; de Aguiar Greca, Korff and Ryan, 2023; Fasan, Tight and Evdorides, 2021; Goodman, Van Sluijs and Ogilvie, 2016; Moore et al, 2014; Page et al, 2010; Panter et al, 2010a; Panter et al, 2010b; Roth, Millett and Mindell, 2012; Teyhan et al, 2016) and five were reports from Government-funded travel to school initiatives (Atkins Limited, 2010; Department for Regional Development, 2015; Glasgow Centre for Population Health, 2013; Scottish Government, 2017; Shared Intelligence Limited, 2013). Of the 16 included paper/articles, 11 were conducted in England (Atkins Limited, 2010; Benson and Scriven, 2012; Christie et al, 2011; de Aguiar Greca, Korff and Ryan, 2023; Fasan, Tight and Evdorides, 2021; Goodman, Van Sluijs and Ogilvie, 2016; Moore et al, 2014; Panter et al, 2010a; Panter et al, 2010b; Roth, Millett and Mindell, 2012; Teyhan et al, 2016), two in Scotland (Glasgow Centre for Population Health, 2013; Scottish Government, 2017), one in Northern Ireland (Department for Regional Development, 2015) and two across the United Kingdom (Page et al, 2010; Shared Intelligence Limited, 2013). Fourteen of the 16 articles/papers had children as participants, with ages ranging between 5–16 years (Benson and Scriven, 2012; Christie et al, 2011; de Aguiar Greca, Korff and Ryan, 2023; Department for Regional Development, 2015; Glasgow Centre for Population Health, 2013; Goodman, Van Sluijs and Ogilvie, 2016; Moore et al, 2014; Page et al, 2010; Panter et al, 2010a; Panter et al, 2010b; Scottish Government, 2017; Shared Intelligence Limited, 2013; Roth, Millett and Mindell, 2012; Teyhan et al, 2016). The two articles/papers which did not have any child participants included school staff, school travel advisors, cycle instructors and other stakeholders (Atkins Limited, 2010; Fasan, Tight and Evdorides, 2021). Four articles/papers were located within a primary school (Goodman, Van Sluijs and Ogilvie, 2016; Page et al, 2010; Panter et al, 2010a; Panter et al, 2010b), although two of these papers/articles used data from the same cross-sectional study but reported different outcomes (Panter et al, 2010a; Panter et al, 2010b). Five articles/papers reported on research located within a secondary school (Benson and Scriven, 2012; Department for Regional Development, 2015; Fasan, Tight and Evdorides, 2021; Moore et al, 2014; Teyhan et al, 2016), another seven were conducted in both primary and secondary schools (Atkins Limited, 2010; Christie et al, 2011; de Aguiar Greca, Korff and Ryan, 2023; Glasgow Centre for Population Health, 2013; Roth, Millett and Mindell, 2012; Scottish Government, 2017; Shared Intelligence Limited, 2013). Eleven of the 16 papers/articles reported the prevalence rates of cycling to school ranging from 2% to 45%.
Characteristics of included papers/articles (N = 16).
| Author, year | County | Aims and Objectives | Study design, methods | Participants | Age | Setting | Number of participants that cycled (%) | MMAT score |
| Atkins Limited, 2010 | England | An evaluation of the Travelling to School Initiative | Mixed methods, school census survey, workshops and case studies | School staff, School Travel Advisors, stakeholders from 576 schools | No children involved | Primary and Secondary | N/A | *** |
| Benson and Scriven, 2012 | England | Identify the psychological, social, and environmental barriers that influence an adolescent’s decision to cycle to school | Quantitative. Using two cross-sectional surveys | Children and parents. 62 out of 120 (52%) completed both surveys | 11–14 | Secondary | 25.8% (n = 16) reported to cycle to school occasionally. | **** |
| Christie et al, 2011 | England | Explore levels of cycling and opportunities and barriers to increase children’s safer cycling in disadvantaged areas | Mixed methods, cross-sectional survey and focus groups | Children and parents, 4286 children completed the survey. 67 parents participated in focus groups. | 9–14 | Primary and Secondary | 2% | ***** |
| de Aguiar Greca, Korff and Ryan, 2023 | England | Explore barriers to children cycling as a means of active transport | Qualitative study, semi-structured interviews | 18 children and 18 parents | 8–12 | Primary and Secondary | 5.6% (n = 1) | ***** |
| Department of Regional Development, 2015 | NI | To provide statistics on the methods of travel of post primary school pupils to/from school and their attitudes to walking and cycling to/from school | Quantitative, data from the “Travelling to School” module of the Young Persons’ Behaviour and Attitudes Survey | 3164 children | 11–16 | Secondary | 2% (n = 63) | ***** |
| Fasan, Tight and Evdorides, 2021 | England | To understand the factors influencing cycling among secondary school adolescents, perspectives of local transport stakeholders promoting cycling amongst school adolescents | Qualitative, semi-structured interviews focussing on the barriers and facilitators to increasing cycling for school and non-school travel | 14 local transport stakeholders | No children involved | Secondary | N/A | ***** |
| Glasgow Centre for Population Health, 2013 | Scotland | Identify what encourages active transport to schools where rates are higher than expected | Qualitative interviews and focus groups | School staff, children, and parents from 18 schools | 10–15 | Primary and Secondary | NR | ***** |
| Goodman, Van Sluijs and Ogilvie, 2016 | England | Data from the Millennium Cohort Study to examine whether Bikeability cycling training was associated with increased frequency in cycling, cycling independently or cycling to school | Quantitative, using data from the Millennium Cohort Study | 3336 children | 10–11 | Primary | 2.8% (N = 93) | ***** |
| Moore et al, 2014 | England | To identify the environments in which adolescents participate in physical activity, the factors relating to physical activity and environmental context, and how they influence behaviour | Mixed methods, focus groups and GPS/accelerometer data | 28 children | 11–14 | Secondary | NR | **** |
| Page et al, 2010 | All the UK | Investigate the environmental and personal determinants of physical activity, eating behaviours and obesity in young people as they transition from primary to secondary school | Quantitative. Longitudinal study, using data from the Personal and Environmental Associations with Children’s Health (PEACH) project | 1300 children | 10–11 | Primary | 3% (N = 40) | ***** |
| Panter et al, 2010a | England | Examine whether attitudes, social support and environmental perceptions are associated with active transport behaviour in school children and whether these associations are moderated by the distance to school | Quantitative, data from the Sport, Physical activity and Eating behaviour: Environmental Determinants in Young People (SPEEDY) cross-sectional study | 2012 children | 9–10 | Primary | 9% (n = 186) | ***** |
| Panter et al, 2010b | England | To assess whether objectively measured characteristics of the neighbourhood, route and school environments are associated with active commuting to school among children. Also explore whether distance acts as a moderator in this association | Quantitative, using data from the Sport, Physical activity and Eating behaviour: Environmental Determinants in Young People (SPEEDY) cross-sectional study | 2012 children | 9–10 | Primary | 9% (n = 186) | **** |
| Roth, Millett and Mindell, 2012 | England | Explore whether children who walk or cycle to school are more active overall and less likely to be obese, and whether active transport to school is as important as formal sports and exercise in achieving PA recommendations | Quantitative, cross-sectional study using data from the Health Survey for England | 4468 children | 5–15 | Primary and Secondary | 3% (n = 148) | ***** |
| Shared Intelligence Limited, 2013 | All of UK | An evaluation of the Bike Club initiative | Mixed methods using an online survey, stakeholder interviews, place studies, and a young person’s questionnaire | Bike Club leaders, stakeholders, children and parents. 42 out of 44 children responded to the young person’s questionnaire | NR | Primary and Secondary | 45% (n = 19) | ***** |
| Scottish Government, 2017 | Scotland | A report commissioned by the Scottish Government to provide the latest evidence on school transport choices and which approaches have been effective in influencing these, to minimise the number of journeys to school by car while also increasing active transport | Qualitative. Fieldwork phase involving interviews with school staff, mini-focus groups with children, child led interviews with parents at home, and local authority and other stakeholder discussions | 178 Children, 11 staff 106 parents Local authority and other stakeholders 24 | 10–15 | Primary and Secondary | NR | ***** |
| Teyhan et al, 2016 | England | To examine if National Cycle Proficiency Scheme training is associated with cycling, cycling safety behaviours, or accidents in adolescence | Quantitative. Using data from the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children, a birth cohort study | 5415 children | 14–16 | Secondary | Less than 2% of girls and just over 10% of boys | ***** |
Of the 16 included papers/articles, the outcome of the MMAT (Hong et al, 2018), 12 were rated as high quality (five stars), three rated as good quality (four stars) and one paper/article rated satisfactory (three stars) (see Table 2).
3.2 Categorization of barriers and facilitators
There were a variety of barriers and facilitators to children cycling to school as identified by children, parents, school staff and other stakeholders. These barriers and facilitators have been categorised using the conceptions of personal, social, environmental factors that is present in many of the articles we have analysed (see Table 3). In each of these themes, examples of the issues are explored with reference to the capabilities approach (Sen and Nussbaum, 1993) to inform our understanding of the complex interweaving of conversion factors (Robeyns, 2017; Sen, 2001).
Barriers and facilitators in relation to personal, social, and environmental conversion factors across the selected papers/articles.
3.3 Personal issues
The literature suggests that personal facilitators and barriers related to gender, age, confidence, and practical issues. Gender was the most frequently identified influence, with papers/articles reporting that boys were more likely to cycle to school than girls in both primary and secondary school (Benson and Scriven, 2012; Page et al, 2010; Panter et al, 2010a; Roth, Millett and Mindell, 2012; Scottish Government, 2017; Teyhan et al, 2016). One article reported that fewer girls cycling to school may be due to not wanting to cycle alone or wanting to cycle with a friend (Moore et al, 2014) One article reported a general decrease in adolescent girls’ physical activity (Fasan, Tight and Evdorides, 2021). Two papers/articles found that age influenced cycling to school. Both were cross sectional studies and found that the frequency of children reporting cycling to school reduced as age increased (Benson and Scriven, 2012; Scottish Government, 2017). The pressure to fit in was also identified as a factor in this drop-off in cycling to school between primary and secondary year groups, as cycling was not seen as a “cool” activity (Scottish Government, 2017).
In one paper/article, there was a perception from parents that children lacked the skills to cycle to school (Christie et al, 2011) and a report evaluating a cycle initiative noted a lack of confidence as a key barrier to children cycling to school (Shared Intelligence Limited, 2013). There were often practical reasons why children did not cycle to school as well as a reported lack of cycling skills and cycle training, not having access to a cycle or equipment such as a cycle lock was highlighted in two papers/articles (Scottish Government, 2017; Shared Intelligence Limited, 2013). No ownership or access to a cycle was particularly relevant for children living in deprived areas (Shared Intelligence Limited, 2013). For secondary school children, other practical barriers included having too much equipment to take to school (e.g., school bag, PE kit, musical instruments, etc.), other competing activities and increased amount of homework, not wanting to arrive to school tired, hot and sweaty, and concerns about personal safety/crime (Department for Regional Development, 2015; Scottish Government, 2017).
A national survey of secondary school children in Northern Ireland (Department for Regional Development, 2015) identified the personal benefits of cycling to school. Some children cycled to school because they enjoyed it or it made them feel healthier, it gave them freedom to choose their own route, save money, allowed them to do things on the way to and after school, and helped them to arrive on time to school. In the same paper/article, the ability to travel independently without an adult was identified as an advantage to cycling to school and a second paper/article, evaluating the Bike Club programme reported the initiative allowed children with special education needs who were often reliant on taxis to travel independently to school (Shared Intelligence Limited, 2013). Conversely, some children indicated no desire to cycle (Department for Regional Development, 2015) or had a preference for other methods of active transport such as walking (Shared Intelligence Limited, 2013) and the increased popularity of scooting which was seen as being just as fast as cycling but as safe and as off-road as walking (Scottish Government, 2017).
Analysed from a CA perspective, these reported personal issues can be understood as related to resources and personal, social, and environmental conversion factors. Individuals may or may not have relevant personal conversion factors, such as the personal attributes of skills, confidence, and physical health to cycle. Personal issues related to gender or age that makes it feel or seem appropriate to be cycling are however related to social conversion factors – for example, social values that challenge age-based notions of how “safe” or “cool” it is to cycle, or interventions that encourage cycle buddying for girls. Personal concerns about arriving at school hot and sweaty, and concerns about safety might in turn relate to resources (for example, a lightweight bicycle with good gearing) and personal, social and environmental conversion factors including fitness and self-image, social attitudes about what children should look like when arriving at school and cycling infrastructure. Even the issue of owning or having access to a cycle, cycle lock or a cycle on which it is possible to carry school equipment, which might be seen simply as a personal resource issue, could also be related to the presence or absence of a social conversion factor – for example, a community intervention that lends bicycles to children.
3.4 Social issues
Social issues reported in the literature related to social norms, peer pressure, social hierarchies, and perceptions of power. Parents, peers, motorists, and schools had an influence on children’s decision to cycle to school. Parental attitudes to children cycling to school was discussed in seven of the included papers/articles (Atkins Limited, 2010; Christie et al, 2011; de Aguiar Greca, Korff and Ryan, 2023; Fasan, Tight and Evdorides, 2021; Glasgow Centre for Population Health, 2013; Panter et al, 2010a; Scottish Government, 2017). Parents showed a reluctance to allow their child to cycle to school with concerns centring around road safety (Atkins Limited, 2010; Scottish Government, 2017) a perceived lack of cycle paths (Panter et al, 2010a), encountering strangers (Atkins Limited, 2010), belief about the capability of their child cycling to school, and a fear of their child’s cycle being stolen (Christie et al, 2011). Changing the parents’ routine and the convenience of driving their child to school was also a factor (Atkins Limited, 2010; Panter et al, 2010a). There was also a disconnect between who made the decision to cycle to school, that is, the parent or the child. In one article (Benson and Scriven, 2012) 40% of children believed they made the decision, whereas only 23% of parents claimed their child decided; if parents made the decision it resulted in children not cycling to school, whereas half of those children whose parents left the decision to them cycled to school. To overcome some of these attitudes it was suggested that parents should be made more aware of the benefits of cycling and explore ways for greater engagement with the development of school travel plans (Atkins Limited, 2010). Glasgow Centre for Population Health (2013) reported that parents felt it was safe for their children to travel independently to school as it was seen as “a fun, healthy and green thing to do” (p.5). Fasan, Tight and Evdorides (2021) suggested that encouraging incentives to cycle amongst secondary school pupils, coupled with parental education and family cycling events could tackle the perceived resistance to allowing children to cycle to school.
The effect of social support from friends and parents was discussed in eight papers/articles (Benson and Scriven, 2012; de Aguiar Greca, Korff and Ryan, 2023; Department for Regional Development, 2015; Fasan, Tight and Evdorides, 2021; Glasgow Centre for Population Health, 2013; Moore et al, 2014; Panter et al, 2010a; Shared Intelligence Limited, 2013). Parents recognise the benefits of cycling to their child in terms of physical activity, fun and cognition (de Aguiar Greca, Korff and Ryan, 2023). The probability of a child cycling to school decreased when they did not have a friend who cycled to school (Benson and Scriven, 2012) and those that had encouragement from friends and parents were four times more likely to cycle to school than use motorised transport (Panter et al, 2010a). Similarly, wanting to talk with friends and listen to music on route was identified as a barrier as children felt unable to do these when cycling (Scottish Government, 2017). Motorists’ attitudes were mentioned in one article about secondary school children who felt unsafe travelling to school with their main concern being that more care is needed when overtaking cyclists (Department for Regional Development, 2015).
Nine of the included papers/articles highlighted the role that schools play in influencing children to cycle to school with regards to planning, initiatives and encouraging children to cycle (Atkins Limited, 2010; de Aguiar Greca, Korff and Ryan, 2023; Fasan, Tight and Evdorides, 2021; Goodman, Van Sluijs and Ogilvie, 2016; Glasgow Centre for Population Health, 2013; Panter et al, 2010b; Scottish Government, 2017; Shared Intelligence Limited, 2013; Teyhan et al, 2016). One cross-sectional study (Panter et al, 2010b) revealed that having a travel plan was possible associated with cycling to school, with 84%of schools having a travel plan. One paper cited a lack of funding as a barrier to implementing a travel plan (Atkins Limited, 2010). This paper also reported that schools feared being sued if cycles are stolen or if a child has an accident (Atkins Limited, 2010). Another paper showed some schools discouraged children cycling to school due to concerns around safety or did not promote active transport (Scottish Government, 2017).
Four papers/articles focussed specifically on the impact of cycle training initiatives at schools (Atkins Limited, 2010; Goodman, Van Sluijs and Ogilvie, 2016; Shared Intelligence Limited, 2013; Teyhan et al, 2016). One paper/article found that cycle training was positively associated with cycling to school in children aged 14–16 (Teyhan et al, 2016). However, another paper/article exploring the effectiveness of Bikeability, England’s national cycling training scheme, found there was no evidence that Bikeability increased cycling to school (Goodman, Van Sluijs and Ogilvie, 2016). Shared Intelligence Limited (2013) were able to demonstrate that cycling initiatives can improve children’s confidence as well as develop other skills such as leadership, teamwork, and independence. Moreover, short-term school initiatives were seen as not being conducive to long-term adoption of cycling to school (Scottish Government, 2017).
Analysed from a CA perspective, these social issues relate to multiple conversion factors. The attitudes of friends and family were fundamental, and these supportive attitudes can be defined as the personal conversion factors of other individuals – for example, parents’ fears about safety and bicycle theft versus knowledge of the health benefits and their promotion of children’s autonomous decision making. But these personal conversion factors in turn can be seen as related to social and environmental conversion factors – for example, school schemes that encourage parental awareness of the benefits of cycling and safe cycling routes. The possibility of cycling with friends, or enjoying friendships while cycling, can also be seen as related to both social and environmental conversion factors – for example, the presence of school-based encouragement for cycling, awareness raising to encourage tolerance from motorists and cycle paths where it is possible to talk whilst cycling. The social interventions which attempted to strength the personal skills of children, in the form of cycle training, were of mixed success, especially if the intervention was short term. This indicates a further social conversion factor – the presence or absence of sustained funding and the political will or economic context which enables this.
3.5 Environmental issues
Reported environmental issues primarily related to distance from home to school, geographical location and having the infrastructure to support cycling with regards to road safety, access to cycle paths and safe storage at school.
The distance that children travel to school was identified as a barrier/facilitator in four papers/articles (Department for Regional Development, 2015; Moore et al, 2014; Panter et al, 2010a). One article reported that children who had a longer route to school were less likely to cycle to school (Panter et al, 2010a). Living closer to school was the main factor that would encourage children to cycle to school (42%) as identified from national survey data in Northern Ireland (Department for Regional Development, 2015). The same survey data also identified that having “better weather” would encourage children to cycle to school in a fifth of those surveyed (20%).
The area that the child lived in was also a factor in whether they cycled to school. Three articles/papers reported that children who live in more disadvantaged areas were less likely to cycle to school (Christie et al, 2011; Panter et al, 2010b; Roth, Millett and Mindell, 2012). Lack of other forms of transport, and the location of schools at the heart of the community facilitated cycling and other forms of active travel (Glasgow Centre for Population Health, 2013).
Infrastructure was a key factor in five of the articles/papers that influenced whether children cycled to school. The perception that roads are unsafe due to the amount of traffic was a concern shared by both parents (Benson and Scriven, 2012), children (Department for Regional Development, 2015) and school staff (Atkins Limited, 2010). Having less traffic and safer cycling routes to school with cycle lanes that were well marked and clear of obstructions, such as parked cars, were all identified by secondary school children in Northern Ireland as factor that that would encourage them to cycle to school (Department for Regional Development, 2015). Similarly, safer local roads and cycle paths were seen as the most important factors that would encourage cycling to school in an evaluation of a Travel to School initiative (Atkins Limited, 2010).
In three of the included papers/articles (Atkins Limited, 2010; Department for Regional Development, 2015; Scottish Government, 2017) it was also identified that the school could improve infrastructure with the provision of safe and secure cycle storage which would encourage children to cycle to school. Having secure cycling facilities would give more confidence to children to cycle to school if they can safely lock up their cycles. The provision of cycle storage along with changing facilities were seen as important factors that would encourage more children to cycle to school as well as having safer local roads and cycle paths (Atkins Limited, 2010) which connect cycle routes directly to schools (Fasan, Tight and Evdorides, 2021).
Analysed from a CA perspective, the place where a child lives might be seen as a personal attribute, but the relative location of a school within a community, its relationship to other travel routes and options and availability of cycle lockers and changing facilities are clear environmental conversion factors. Some of these factors also relate back to the personal conversion factors – including concerns about arriving at school dishevelled and about cycle theft which may be less of a factor on shorter cycling routes, and which could be addressed by provision of appropriate changing and safe storage facilities. There are also apparent social conversion factors which seem to be at the root of much of these infrastructure issues – for example, social attitudes about the relative importance of enabling children’s safe cycling, which might in turn affect social support for public investment in cycling infrastructure over longer distances.
4.0 Discussion
The aim of this systematic review was to identify the barriers and facilitators for cycling to school for children in the UK. To our knowledge this is the first systematic review focussing on children cycling to school as a means of active transport in the UK. This review found 16 papers/articles which identified various barriers and facilitators to children cycling to school. Using the capabilities approach (Sen and Nussbaum, 1993) has enabled us to identify the complex interweaving of personal, social and environmental conversion factors that operate within the personal, social and environmental barriers and facilitators to children’s cycle commuting that have been reported in the UK literature. The CA concepts of resources and conversion factors (Robeyns, 2017) were key to unpicking this complexity, as they prompted us to reflect on the wider causes of the diverse issues that were reported. Understanding these underlying and causal conditions is vital if children’s desire to cycle to school more is to be responded to effectively.
We identified gender as a key personal characteristic that acts as a barrier to cycling, meaning that girls are less likely to cycle to school than boys. This finding is not uncommon and concurs with other research on active travel to school, including in international contexts (Higgins and Ahern, 2021; Lam et al, 2023; Schönbach et al, 2020). A 2021 study by Higgins and Ahern attributed the differences between boys and girls cycling behaviours to the difference in school uniforms, traffic concerns, the physical effects of cycling, the effects on appearance and the influence of friends. Adult cycling, initiatives that have specifically considered gender have seen increases in women cycling (British Cycling, 2022) and these could be adapted and developed for girls and young women. In addition, it been suggested that women’s cycling needs should be considered when it comes to the development of town and cities (Grudgings et al, 2018). But our CA analysis of gender-related barriers also highlights the social nature of this issue. This has significant implications for interventions because addressing gender as a personal issue might mean encouraging girls to feel more confident, whereas addressing gender as a social conversion factor might mean a whole school approach to celebrating women’s strength in cycling and challenging any remarks that attempt to perpetuated gendered discrimination.
Reported social issues predominantly related to parental perceptions, social norms, and the influence of friends on whether the child cycles to school. To address these, it is important to engage with personal, social, and environmental conversion factors. Previous research has identified the important role that parents’ perceptions play in allowing children to cycle to school (Aranda-Balboa et al, 2020; Forsberg et al, 2023; Lorenc et al, 2008; Savolainen et al, 2024) and it is important to acknowledge how these perceptions affect children’s decision to cycle to school but also address these through education interventions and environmental/infrastructure changes (Aranda-Balboa et al, 2020). Engaging with all these conversion factors at the same time might mean working with parents to understand their fear in detail, addressing some of these through education, but also learning from their fears to design infrastructure that avoids potential dangers.
Corresponding with previous research (Aranda-Balboa et al, 2020; Emond and Handy, 2012; Fraser and Lock, 2011; Lam et al, 2023), distance from home to school was also an important environmental and personal factor. This interaction of factors needs to be considered when schools develop their Active Travel/Transport Plans (ATPs) and when cycling infrastructure is being planned by Local Authorities. ATPs are currently developed by each individual school and tend to focus on the physical environment and identification of routes, but a joined-up neighbourhood and locality approach to their development would see better coordinated safe cycle routes that could be utilised by children of all ages and their families, engendering a culture of cycling from an earlier age. An example of this is the School Streets initiatives (Clarke, 2022) which closes off streets to car traffic during School opening and closing times. This reduces traffic and address the real concerns that parents and children have about road safety. In the UK, Department for Transport strategies including Low Traffic Neighbourhoods (LTN), and other local and regional programmes are optimising public interest and motivation to reduce car journeys (Department of Transport, 2023; Department of Transport, 2020). School related car journeys contribute to the volume of traffic in local neighbourhoods and both local and national government policies should engage with and develop behaviour change strategies targeted at parents/carers to discourage car journeys to school and correspondingly increase cycling and other active travel options. Our research found that schools which have implemented and are supportive of active travel through addressing social and environmental conversion factors as well as education, enjoy more success in increasing cycling to school. This may require capital investment to provide secure storage and changing facilities, as well as resources to provide rewards and incentives for cycling and investing in behaviour change strategies. School based cycling initiatives which are short-term and only address personal conversion factors (cycling skills) (Goodman, Van Sluijs and Ogilvie, 2016) do not increase cycling to school and a sustained effort that changes the travel cultures and opportunities in and around schools is required.
None of the included papers/articles directly discussed children’s ability to cycle although this is a key personal conversion factor. Lack of confidence was reported as a barrier to cycling to school (Shared Intelligence Limited, 2013) which could reflect children’s concerns about their ability as well as the safety of the physical environment within which they would have to cycle. A recent scoping review by Savolainen and colleagues (2024) exploring the psychosocial factors that influence children’s active travel to school reported that a child’s confidence in their ability was positively associated with active transport to school and, a parent’s confidence in their child’s ability also shared a positive relationship with active transport. National programmes, such as Bikeability, which focus on training children and developing their cycle skills, have seen a significant increase in Department for Transport funded provision within schools (Department of Transport, 2020). The lack of evidence that cycle skills training encourages cycling to school in itself (Goodman, Van Sluijs and Ogilvie, 2016), and the complexity of interweaving of personal, social and environmental conversion factors revealed by our review, suggests that it is the interaction of the three conversion factors that must be carefully considered if cycle commuting to school is to become an option that more children enjoy.
Older children’s cycling to school decreased (Panter, Jonesa and Van Sluijs, 2008), especially in the transition from primary to secondary school and was associated with social norms and expectations, including peer pressure (a social conversion factor), and the availability of alternative travel options including walking and public transport (an environmental conversion factor). Older children have more opportunities for independent travel to school and have wider options for the mode of transport they choose for their school journeys. But analysis of the potential conversion factors indicated by our review suggests that this is not just a personal issue. It may therefore be important for interventions to address multiple dimensions. This might include personal rewards (highlighting health benefits of giving “points for pedalling”), infrastructure concerns (provision of changing facilities and safe storage for cycles with good gears), social attitudes (promoting a “cool to cycle to school” image) and social relationships concerns (promoting a “cool to cycle with your buddies to school” approach). As older children preferred to cycle with friends and peers, the identification of safer routes to enable safe social interactions when cycling in groups would facilitate this.
Cycle ownership and storage was reported as a barrier to cycling to school and was more likely to affect children living in poorer and densely populated neighbourhoods and thus more likely to impact on children from Black, Asian, and Minority Ethnic communities (Fasan, Tight and Evdorides, 2021). There is a gap in the research in terms of different cultural attitudes towards children cycling to school. Previous research has shown parental cycling with their child to school increase rates of active travel and provides an opportunity to teach children how to deal with and avoid road hazards (Carver et al, 2014; Fyhri et al, 2011; Ghekiere et al, 2016), and so the question of supporting parental ownership or access to bicycles is also worthy of further research. There has been a recent increase in initiatives which have developed social/community storage and low-cost cycle hire schemes which could be of benefit. Whilst the provision of infrastructure is often the go-to solution to cycling problems it is clear from the barriers identified in this review that understanding the combined impact of environmental, social, and personal conversion factors together with the distribution of the personal resources (cycles, helmets, and lacks), is very important for changing the impetus to cycle to school.
A further insight from our review is the relevance of the use of CA to analyse the literature on barriers and facilitators to children cycling to school in the UK. As has been found in adult literature on cycling (Sherriff et al, 2020) our approach has enabled us to consider how reported issues interrelate and has revealed a potential barrier to effective implementation of the UK government initiative Gear Change (Department of Transport, 2020) and other cycling promotion initiatives. For example, as Jahanshahi et al (2023) have noted in New Zealand, a wholistic notion of justice, such as the Capabilities Approach is needed because people of different backgrounds perceive cycling infrastructure differently. Questions of equity may not even be considered when planning for cycling (Cunha, Silva and Büttner, 2023). So, to promote transport justice for children, and with respect to the intersections of age and other social characteristics, we suggest there has been too great a focus on the personal (skill and confidence) and environmental (cycling infrastructure) dimensions without adequate attention to the complex role of the social, including norms about who should be cycling, and social support for sustained investment in multidimensional educational and codesign solutions. To understand how personal, social, and environmental factors interact in any local setting we suggest future research using CA would benefit from the active involvement of children, parents, schools and authorities and a focus on justice.
4.1 Strengths and limitations
There are strengths to this review which should be noted. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first review to focus on the barriers and facilitators to children cycling to school in the UK. We used an extensive search strategy to locate studies in seven databases and relevant sources of grey literature. Moreover, barriers and facilitators were categorised according to the capabilities approach framework (Sen and Nussbaum, 1993). Every process in the selection and data extraction were conducted by two or more reviewers, ensuring quality of the results. The inclusion of a quality assessment was also another strength, with the majority of included papers/articles rated as either high quality or good, adding confidence in our findings. Our research is timely given the widening policy agenda which determines that cycling is a form of low cost and “green” travel in the UK (Department of Transport, 2022) this is also pertinent given wider economic factors including increasing fuel prices, inflation and the costs of living (Office for National Statistics, 2022). This review has limitations. Only a limited number of the included papers/articles specifically reported barriers to cycling to school. In addition, only eleven papers/articles came from peer reviewed journals and ten of these were quantitative in design, therefore more qualitative research focussing on the barriers and facilitators to children cycling to school is warranted.
4.2 Conclusion
Issues of justice and sustainable cities and communities are global concerns. This review identified barriers and facilitators regarding children cycling to school in a systematic review of UK literature, but we drew on international literature to discuss how a CA can illuminate the interactions between the personal, social, and environmental conversion factors. The CA adopted revealed the complexity in understanding and addressing barriers to children cycling to school. Engaging with this complexity is essential in any research and practice which seeks to address concerns around justice wholistically. Future research focussed on understanding cultural and gendered attitudes to cycling could contribute to further unpicking this complexity, as attitudes appear to be fostered at a young age. Future research and practice could also benefit from using the CA as a framework for codesigning and co-evaluating holistic solutions in the UK and beyond, with the active involvement of children, young people, parents, schools, and local and national authorities, to ensure that individual and community factors are adequately addressed and to enable greater access to cycling to school.
Additional File
The additional file for this article can be found as follows:
Strategies used for each database. DOI: https://doi.org/10.16997/ats.1553.s1
Acknowledgements
Thanks to the Research Centre for Applied Sport Physical Activity and Performance for internal funding to carry out this systematic review as part of our wider research about children’s cycling commuting in the post pandemic period.
Funding Information
This review was funded by the University of Central Lancashire’s Research Centre for Applied Sport Physical Activity and Performance.
Competing Interests
The authors have no competing interests to declare.
Author Contributions
Paul Boland: Conceptualization, Investigation, Methodology, Data Curation, Formal Analysis, Writing – Original Draft, Writing – Review & Editing, Project administration. Rebecca Nowland: Conceptualization, Methodology, Investigation, Data Curation, Supervision, Formal Analysis, Writing – Original Draft, Writing – Review & Editing. Kennedy Tellis: Investigation, Data Curation, Formal Analysis, Writing – Original Draft. Mags Adams: Methodology, Writing – Original Draft, Formal Analysis. Joanne Westwood: Funding acquisition, Writing – Original Draft, Writing – Review & Editing, Formal Analysis Deborah Crook: Conceptualization, Data Curation, Writing – Original Draft Cath Larkins: Conceptualization, Data Curation, Writing – Review & Editing. Julie Ridley: Conceptualization.
References
1 Active Healthy Kids Global Alliance (2022) The global matrix 4.0 on physical activity for children and adolescents. DOI: https://www.activehealthykids.org/4-0/ (Accessed: 25 July 2024).
2 Aranda-Balboa, M. J., et al (2020) ‘Parental barriers to active transport to school: a systematic review’, International Journal of Public Health, 65, pp. 87–98. DOI: http://doi.org/10.1007/s00038-019-01313-1
3 Atkins Limited (2010) An evaluation of the ‘Travelling to School Initiative’ programme final report. DOI: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/evaluation-of-the-travelling-to-school-initiative-programme-final-report (Accessed: 18 August 2023).
4 Benson, J. and Scriven, A. (2012) ‘Psychological, social and environmental barriers to cycling to school’, International Journal of Health Promotion and Education, 50, pp. 34–44. DOI: http://doi.org/10.1080/14635240.2012.661956
5 Boland, P., et al (2021) Barriers and facilitators for cycling to school in the UK: a systematic review protocol. PROSPERO. DOI: https://www.crd.york.ac.uk/prospero/display_record.php?ID=CRD42021268142 (Accessed: 7 December 2023).
6 British Cycling (2022) Local ride leader praises ‘life-changing’ women-only cycling initiative. DOI: https://www.britishcycling.org.uk/search/article/20190613-wc-women-Local-ride-leader-praises--life-changing-women-only-cycling-initiative-0 (Accessed: 7 December 2023).
7 Carver, A., et al (2014) ‘Independent mobility on the journey to school: a joint cross-sectional and prospective exploration of social and physical environmental influences’, Journal of Transport & Health, 1, pp. 25–32. DOI: http://doi.org/10.1016/j.jth.2013.12.003
8 Chillón, P., et al (2011) ‘A systematic review of interventions for promoting active transportation to school’, International Journal of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity, 8, pp. 10. DOI: http://doi.org/10.1186/1479-5868-8-10
9 Christie, N., et al (2011) ‘Children aged 9–14 living in disadvantaged areas in England: opportunities and barriers for cycling’, Journal of Transport Geography, 19, pp. 943–949. DOI: http://doi.org/10.1016/j.jtrangeo.2010.12.003
10 Clarke, R. (2022) School streets: putting children and the planet first – a political economy analysis of the rise of school streets in Europe and around the world. DOI: https://www.childhealthinitiative.org/media/792262/school-streets-globally.pdf (Accessed: 14 December 2023).
11 Cockburn, T. (1998) ‘Children and citizenship in Britain: a case for a socially interdependent model of citizenship’, Childhood, 5, pp. 99–117. DOI: http://doi.org/10.1177/0907568298005001007
12 Cooper, A., et al (2005) ‘Physical activity levels of children who walk, cycle, or are driven to school’, American Journal of Preventive Medicine, 29, pp. 179–84. DOI: http://doi.org/10.1016/j.amepre.2005.05.009
13 Cunha, I., Silva, C. and Büttner, B. (2023) ‘Practitioners’ perspectives on cycling equity: bridging the gap between planning priorities’, Transportation Research Part D: Transport and Environment, 123, p. 103902. DOI: http://doi.org/10.1016/j.trd.2023.103902
14 Daudt, H. M., Van Mossel, C. and Scott, S. J. (2013) ‘Enhancing the scoping study methodology: a large, inter-professional team’s experience with Arksey and O’Malley’s framework’, BMC Medical Research Methodology, 13, p. 48. DOI: http://doi.org/10.1186/1471-2288-13-48
15 de Aguiar Greca, J. P., Korff, T. and Ryan, J. (2023) ‘The feasibility of cycling as a form of active commuting among children from a parental perspective: a qualitative study’, International Journal of Health Promotion and Education, 61 (5), pp. 266–275. DOI: http://doi.org/10.1080/14635240.2023.2207100
16 Department for Regional Development (2015) Travel to/from school by post primary pupils: NI 2013- findings from Young Person’s Behaviour and Attitudes Survey (YPBAS) 2013. DOI: https://www.infrastructure-ni.gov.uk/publications/travel-tofrom-school-by-post-primary-pupils-ni-2013 (Accessed: 18 August 2023).
17 Department of Transport (2010) Active travel strategy. DOI: https://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/ukgwa/20130104171407/http:/www.dh.gov.uk/en/Publicationsandstatistics/Publications/PublicationsPolicyAndGuidance/DH_113102 (Accessed: 13 December 2023).
18 Department of Transport (2017) Cycling and walking investment strategy. DOI: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/5f622fade90e072bb68d5c74/cycling-walking-investment-strategy.pdf (Accessed: 13 December 2023).
19 Department of Transport (2020) Gear change: a bold vision for cycling and walking. DOI: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/5f1f59458fa8f53d39c0def9/gear-change-a-bold-vision-for-cycling-and-walking.pdf (Accessed: 7 December 2023).
20 Department of Transport (2022) The second cycling and walking investment strategy (CWIS2). DOI: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/the-second-cycling-and-walking-investment-strategy/the-second-cycling-and-walking-investment-strategy-cwis2 (Accessed: 7 December 2023).
21 Department of Transport (2023) Cycling, motorcycling, school travel, concessionary travel and road safety. DOI: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistical-data-sets/nts06-age-gender-and-modal-breakdown (Accessed: 18 October 2024).
22 Emond, C. R. and Handy, S. L. (2012) ‘Factors associated with bicycling to high school: insights from Davis, CA’, Journal of Transport Geography, 20, pp. 71–79. DOI: http://doi.org/10.1016/j.jtrangeo.2011.07.008
23 European Commission (2023) European declaration on cycling. DOI: https://transport.ec.europa.eu/document/download/7be18abd-4901-420a-b3a7-2485c96a7e0a_en?filename=European_Declaration_on_Cycling_en_0.pdf (Accessed: 24 July 2024).
24 Fasan, E., Tight, M. and Evdorides, H. (2021) ‘Factors influencing cycling among secondary school adolescents in an ethnically diverse city: the perspective of Birmingham Transport stakeholders’, Sustainability, 13 (22) p. 12400. DOI: http://doi.org/10.3390/su132212400
25 Forsberg, H., et al (2023) ‘Children’s intervention participation is associated with more positive beliefs towards active school transportation among parents’, Health Promotion International, 38, p. daad016. DOI: http://doi.org/10.1093/heapro/daad016
26 Fraser, S. D. S. and Lock, K. (2011) ‘Cycling for transport and public health: a systematic review of the effect of the environment on cycling’, European Journal of Public Health, 21, pp. 738–743. DOI: http://doi.org/10.1093/eurpub/ckq145
27 Fyhri, A., et al (2011) ‘Children’s active travel and independent mobility in four countries: development, social contributing trends and measures’, Transport Policy, 18, pp. 703–710. DOI: http://doi.org/10.1016/j.tranpol.2011.01.005
28 Ghekiere, A., et al (2016) ‘Does parental accompaniment when walking or cycling moderate the association between physical neighbourhood environment and active transport among 10–12 year olds?’, Journal of Science and Medicine in Sport, 19, pp. 149–153. DOI: http://doi.org/10.1016/j.jsams.2015.01.003
29 Glasgow Centre for Population Health (2011) Briefing paper 29 findings series: children’s travel to school – are we moving in the right direction. DOI: https://www.gcph.co.uk/assets/0000/1126/GCPH_Briefing_Paper29_web_final.pdf (Accessed: 18 August 2023).
30 Glasgow Centre for Population Health (2013) Learning from success: active travel in schools (Briefing paper no 36). DOI: https://www.gcph.co.uk/publications/426_findings_series_36-learning_from_success_active_travel_in_schools (Accessed: 18 August 2023).
31 Goodman, A., et al (2019) ‘Scenarios of cycling to school in England, and associated health and carbon impacts: application of the “Propensity to Cycle Tool”’, Journal of Transport & Health, 12, pp. 263–278. DOI: http://doi.org/10.1016/j.jth.2019.01.008
32 Goodman, A., Van Sluijs, E. M. F. and Ogilvie, D. (2016) ‘Impact of offering cycle training in schools upon cycling behaviour: a natural experimental study’, International Journal of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity, 13, article 34. DOI: http://doi.org/10.1186/s12966-016-0356-z
33 Grudgings, N., et al (2018) ‘Why don’t more women cycle? An analysis of female and male commuter cycling mode-share in England and Wales’, Journal of Transport and Health, 10, pp. 272–283. DOI: http://doi.org/10.1016/j.jth.2018.07.004
34 Haug, E., et al (2021) ‘12-year trends in active school transport across four European countries—findings from the Health Behaviour in School-Aged Children (HBSC) study’, International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 18, p. 2118. DOI: http://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph18042118
35 Herrero, D. C., et al (2021) ‘Systematic review of psychosocial benefits obtained with interventions to promote active commuting in schools’, Sport TK, 10, pp. 95–106. DOI: http://doi.org/10.6018/SPORTK.461711
36 Higgins, R. and Ahern, A. (2021) ‘Students’ and parents’ perceptions of barriers to cycling to school—an analysis by gender’, Sustainability, 13, p. 13213. DOI: http://doi.org/10.3390/su132313213
37 Hong, Q. N., et al (2018) ‘The Mixed Methods Appraisal Tool (MMAT) version 2018 for information professionals and researchers’, Education for Information, 34, pp. 285–291. DOI: http://doi.org/10.3233/efi-180221
38 House of Commons Committee of Public Accounts (2023) Active travel in England, Seventy-Fifth Report of Session 2022–23. DOI: https://committees.parliament.uk/publications/41918/documents/209082/default/ (Accessed: 25 July 2024).
39 Humberto, M., et al (2020) ‘Investigating the mobility capabilities and functionings in accessing schools through walking: a quantitative assessment of public and private schools in São Paulo (Brazil)’, Journal of Human Development and Capabilities, 21, pp. 183–204. DOI: http://doi.org/10.1080/19452829.2020.1745163
40 Jahanshahi, D., et al (2023) ‘Understanding perceptions of cycling infrastructure provision and its role in cycling equity’, Transportation Research Record, 2677, pp. 820–835. DOI: http://doi.org/10.1177/03611981221117821
41 Jones, R. A., et al (2019) ‘Interventions promoting active transport to school in children: A systematic review and meta-analysis’, Preventive Medicine, 123, pp. 232–241. DOI: http://doi.org/10.1016/j.ypmed.2019.03.030
42 Lam, H. Y., et al (2023) ‘Active school commuting in school children: a narrative review of current evidence and future research implications’, International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 20. DOI: http://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph20206929
43 Larkins, C., del Moral Espín, L. and Stoecklin, D. (2023) ‘Understanding children’s participation using the capability approach’, A Handbook of Children and Young People’s Participation. Routledge. pp. 230–6. DOI: http://doi.org/10.4324/9781003367758-36
44 Larouche, R., et al (2016) ‘“I’d rather bike to school!”: profiling children who would prefer to cycle to school’, Journal of Transport & Health, 3, pp. 377–385. DOI: http://doi.org/10.1016/j.jth.2016.06.010
45 Lorenc, T., et al (2008) ‘Attitudes to walking and cycling among children, young people and parents: a systematic review’, Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health, 62, p. 852. DOI: http://doi.org/10.1136/jech.2007.070250
46 Lu, W., et al (2014) ‘Perceived barriers to children’s active commuting to school: a systematic review of empirical, methodological and theoretical evidence’, International Journal of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity, 11, article 140. DOI: http://doi.org/10.1186/s12966-014-0140-x
47 Mandic, S., et al (2015) ‘Personal, social and environmental correlates of active transport to school among adolescents in Otago, New Zealand’, Journal of Science and Medicine in Sport, 18, pp. 432–437. DOI: http://doi.org/10.1016/j.jsams.2014.06.012
48 Moore, H. J., et al (2014) ‘The environment can explain differences in adolescents’ daily physical activity levels living in a deprived urban area: cross-sectional study using accelerometry, GPS, and focus groups’, Journal of Physical Activity and Health, 11, pp. 1517–1524. DOI: http://doi.org/10.1123/jpah.2012-0420
49 Office for National Statistics (2022) Inflation and the cost of living for UK households, overview: June 2022. DOI: https://www.ons.gov.uk/economy/inflationandpriceindices/articles/overviewofinflationandthecostoflivingforukconsumers/june2022#main-points (Accessed: 7 December 2023).
50 Pace, R., et al (2012) ‘Testing the reliability and efficiency of the pilot Mixed Methods Appraisal Tool (MMAT) for systematic mixed studies review’, International Journal of Nursing Studies, 49, pp. 47–53. DOI: http://doi.org/10.1186/s13643-021-01626-4
51 Page, A. S., et al (2010) ‘Independent mobility, perceptions of the built environment and children’s participation in play, active travel and structured exercise and sport: the PEACH Project’, International Journal of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity, 7, p. 17. DOI: http://doi.org/10.1186/1479–5868-7–17
52 Page, M. J., et al (2021) ‘The PRISMA 2020 statement: an updated guideline for reporting systematic reviews’, Systematic Reviews, 10, article 89. DOI: http://doi.org/10.1186/s13643-021-01626-4
53 Panter, J. R., et al (2010a) ‘Attitudes, social support and environmental perceptions as predictors of active commuting behaviour in school children’, Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health, 64, pp. 41–48. DOI: http://doi.org/10.1136/jech.2009.086918
54 Panter, J. R., et al (2010b) ‘Neighborhood, route, and school environments and children’s active commuting’, American Journal of Preventive Medicine, 38, pp. 268–278. DOI: http://doi.org/10.1016/j.amepre.2009.10.040
55 Panter, J. R., Jones, A. P. and Van Sluijs, E. M. (2008) ‘Environmental determinants of active travel in youth: a review and framework for future research’, International Journal of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity, 5, p. 34. DOI: http://doi.org/10.1186/1479-5868-5-34
56 Pereira, R. H. M., Schwanen, T. and Banister, D. (2017) ‘Distributive justice and equity in transportation’, Transport Reviews, 37, pp. 170–191. DOI: http://doi.org/10.1080/01441647.2016.1257660
57 Public Health England (2014) Everybody active, every day. An evidence-based approach to physical activity. DOI: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/5a7d8109ed915d2d2ac09597/Framework_13.pdf (Accessed: 13 December 2023)
58 Robeyns, I. (2017) Wellbeing, Freedom and Social Justice: The Capability Approach Re-Examined. Open Book Publishers. DOI: http://doi.org/10.11647/obp.0130
59 Roth, M. A., Millett, C. J. and Mindell, J. S. (2012) ‘The contribution of active travel (walking and cycling) in children to overall physical activity levels: a national cross-sectional study’, Preventive Medicine, 54, pp. 134–139. DOI: http://doi.org/10.1016/j.ypmed.2011.12.004
60 Savolainen, E., et al (2024) ‘Children’s active school transportation: an international scoping review of psychosocial factors’, Systematic Reviews, 13, article 47. DOI: http://doi.org/10.1186/s13643-023-02414-y
61 Schönbach, D. M. I., et al (2020) ‘Strategies and effects of school-based interventions to promote active school transportation by bicycle among children and adolescents: a systematic review’, International Journal of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity, 17, article 138. DOI: http://doi.org/10.1186/s12966-020-01035-1
62 Scottish Government (2017) Scottish government tackling the school run research study final report. DOI: https://www.gov.scot/publications/tackling-school-run-research-study/ (Accessed: 18 August 2023).
63 Sen, A. (2001) Development as freedom. New York: Achor Books.
64 Sen, A. & Nussbaum, M. (1993) The quality of life. Oxford: Clarendon Press. DOI: http://doi.org/10.1093/0198287976.001.0001
65 Shared Intelligence Limited (2013) Bike club evaluation final report. DOI: http://www.gilliangranville.com/wp-content/uploads/20130512_BIKE-CLUB-EVALUATION_Report1.pdf (Accessed: 18 August 2023).
66 Sherriff, G., et al (2020) ‘From Mobike to no bike in Greater Manchester: Using the capabilities approach to explore Europe’s first wave of dockless bike share’, Journal of Transport Geography, 86, p. 102744. DOI: http://doi.org/10.1016/j.jtrangeo.2020.102744
67 Teyhan, A., et al (2016) ‘The impact of cycle proficiency training on cycle-related behaviours and accidents in adolescence: findings from ALSPAC, a UK longitudinal cohort’, BMC Public Health, 16, article 469. DOI: http://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-016-3138-2
68 United Nations (2021) Sustainable transport, sustainable development. Interagency report for second Global Sustainable Transport Conference. DOI: https://sdgs.un.org/sites/default/files/2021-10/Transportation%20Report%202021_FullReport_Digital.pdf (Accessed: 25 July 2024).
69 Van Burgsteden, M., Grigolon, A. and Geurs, K. (2024) ‘Improving community wellbeing through transport policy: a literature review and theoretical framework, based on the Capability Approach’, Transport Reviews, 44 (6) pp. 1161–1186. DOI: http://doi.org/10.1080/01441647.2024.2374818
70 Verlinghieri, E. and Schwanen, T. (2020) ‘Transport and mobility justice: evolving discussions’, Journal of Transport Geography, 87, p. 102798. DOI: http://doi.org/10.1016/j.jtrangeo.2020.102798
71 Villa-González, E., et al (2018) Systematic review of interventions for promoting active school transport. Preventive Medicine, 111, pp. 115–134. DOI: http://doi.org/10.1016/j.ypmed.2018.02.010
