3500 Secondary School children in 23 Leeds High Schools completed a questionnaire in school time. The results give us a unique insight into current cycle use by 11-14 year olds. Although 46% of the children would like to cycle to school only 2% currently do - there is a huge suppressed demand for cycling. The numbers that would like to cycle to school are the same as a Sustrans survey in Temple Moor school (Leeds), and are greater than in a similar survey in York
In Leeds pupils generally have a short journey to school (87% under 3 miles) and 53% walk to school. There is some variation from school to school but 30% travel by bus. 15% of pupils come by car and many of these journeys are short.
When asked what worried them about cycling there is a difference between boys and girls, this is also reflected in the numbers cycling to school, and the incentives that would encourage cycling. Generally boys are more worried about bike theft and girls more worried about traffic danger.
10% of the total sample reported being involved in accident whilst travelling to or from school, although no cyclist that Leeds City Council had previously trained reported being involved in an accident.
84% of the children owned a bike and only 10% never use their bike. Half of the children cycle on roads near their house and a quarter cycle off road. One conclusion is that although a lot of resources are put into training children to cycle on the roads (The council now trains more than any other body in Leeds) children are not making journeys on their bikes and seeing them as a means of transport.
One fifth of the children use an inhaler and this reflects an alarming trend in children's fitness recorded elsewhere. The report indicates that major initiatives in secondary schools are needed to encourage cycling starting with the provision of secure cycle parking, through to on road provision programmes like the safe routes to schools initiatives.
Cycling to school was once a popular and common activity. For many people, cycling provided their first independent means of travelling for both leisure and utility. Ironically, cycle sales and ownership are presently higher than ever before, but cycle use, particularly amongst the young, is decreasing. Children make 40% fewer cycle trips than in 1975. (National Travel Survey 1996) The present government has recognised that an increase in cycling could help to stem the growth of car use, and in doing so would ease congestion and pollution. Levels of obesity and heart disease amongst young people are alarmingly high, cycling to school would provide regular exercise that is easily incorporated into the daily routine. It is hoped that promoting cycling amongst school children will make it more likely for them to see this as a viable form of transport when they reach adulthood. These ideas are discussed in detail in the National Cycle Strategy. (D.o.T. 1996) There is further pressure on local and national government to provide for cycling as part of the sustainable growth strategy agreed by several nations at the Earth Summit in 1992.
Leeds City Council is committed to addressing the problems caused by the increasing dependence on the car as a means of transport. Over the past three years the Road Safety Unit has provided on-road cycle training to year 6 pupils in many primary schools. Anecdotal evidence suggests that these pupils are not then going on to use their bikes, especially for the school journey. The courses are popular with schools, parents and children and always in demand, however they are expensive to provide. If children who have been trained are not then going to use a bicycle, the Road Safety Promotion Unit may have to reconsider its strategy.
This study is designed to provide a picture of the present level of cycle use amongst Leeds school children in Years 7-9, many of whom were trained to cycle by the Road Safety Unit. It provides an analysis of the factors cited by children as reasons not to cycle, and those which would encourage them to use a bike more. The study reveals whether training is an effective way to encourage cycle use, in addition to its role in road safety education.
Over 3500 children in Leeds secondary schools completed the questionnaire, giving one of the largest samples of its kind. Transport studies do not often include journeys of less than one mile, consequently the many short local journeys made by children are excluded from the planning process. By focusing on the issues from the child's perspective, it is possible to gain a unique insight into the determinants of present cycle use.
The study has three main objectives:-
1. To identify present levels and patterns of cycle use.
2. To illustrate and explore the difference between actual and desired levels of cycle use.
3. To identify differences in cycle use between trained and untrained cyclists.
The nature of the data collected allows analysis by individual school, year-group or for specific modes etc. The data can be made available to any agencies to whom it may be useful on request.
The study was conducted in the form of a questionnaire (Appendix 1). A draft copy was circulated to all schools at the end of April inviting them to take part. Only one school replied to this original request, so further contact was conducted by telephone. There was some initial resistance from schools lacking the time and enthusiasm to participate. Indeed, in many cases it was necessary to be quite aggressive to bypass over-protective school office staff and get to speak to the appropriate teacher! Eventually over half of the schools responded.
The questionnaire itself was designed to be suitable for self completion by pupils with little supervision. This was to minimise demands on staff time. A very small pilot study was conducted amongst year 6 pupils who took an average of 10-15 minutes to complete all questions. (A more rigorous pilot study was desirable but impossible due to time constraints)
The forms were distributed and completed during registration or P.S.E. time in school. This ensured a high return rate with few spoiled papers.
Care was taken to use clear and simple language on the questionnaire. It has been assumed that all children answered accurately, but obviously perceptual and language development vary even amongst children of similar ages. There is evidence to suggest that children also give what they believe to be the correct answer in an effort to please. (Cleary 1995). This may have influenced some of the responses.
The questionnaire was based largely on that used in the Sustrans Safe Routes to School project, and upon one used in a similar study amongst adult commuters in Leeds this year. Whilst this report covers general patterns and trends, the questionnaire was designed so that the data can be broken down to identify individual schools or year-groups to gain more specific information. This will also assist future year on year comparisons and facilitate the monitoring of changes in schools where a cycle-friendly policy is implemented.
In addition to the pupils' questionnaire, a member of staff was also interviewed at each school to establish the school's position on cycling and what facilities it had available. The interview was structured using a basic framework and the results are part of a separate internal report. These discussions were useful in raising site specific problems and also in identifying particularly good ideas and practice in cycle-friendly schools.
Journey to School
The majority of pupils travel to school on foot (53%). There are some schools with a particularly high level of bus use, but in general the average is 30%. Only 2% of pupils cycle to school regularly. One reason for this may be the hilly terrain in some parts of the city. This has a twofold effect to discourage cycling, the hills themselves and the fact that fewer alternative quiet roads are available in hilly areas, funnelling traffic into busy corridors. There is a high level of bus use, reflecting the city's commitment to public transport.
Of those who cycle to school, 26% ride every day, 12% 2/3 times per week and 62% sometimes come by bike. There are probably seasonal variations in cycle use since 6% said that they sometimes cycle whilst cycling was the main mode for only 2%.
Fig 1 illustrates the distance travelled to school by all children sampled. Most (87%) travel less than three miles - an easy distance for a young person of average fitness to cycle. Only 8% travel over four miles, and yet 15% travel by car. It is clear that many pupils are driven short distances. 56% of pupils live within a mile of their school, but even some of these expressed a desire to cycle rather than walk. A similar study in Nottingham suggests that as pupils have more experience of bus travel, they express a strong desire for the independence of travelling by bicycle.(Cleary 1995) If this proves to be the case in Leeds it may be possible to offset some of the costs of providing for cycling against the savings gained in having fewer buses.
Seventy seven percent of those who are driven to school do not share the car with another pupil. This infers that even a relatively small percentage of car borne pupils can generate a large amount of traffic in the vicinity of the school, especially since this is concentrated in a very short period of time. Many of the schools surveyed had over 1500 pupils, if 15% arrive by car this represents up to 225 vehicles outside the school in addition to staff and other traffic! There may be possibilities to set up car share schemes for staff and pupils as well as encouraging less damaging modes.
Factors that generate higher levels of car use include the location of the school, with rural schools showing more car use, and fears of stranger danger, especially where incidents of this nature have already occurred e.g. Allerton High School.
Some 46% said that they would like to cycle, whilst only 2% actually do so. This suggests that there is a widespread desire to cycle which is not presently fulfilled. Significantly, only a third of those who want to cycle to school were girls, and out of all those who do cycle to school only 3% were girls.
Overall, 84% owned a bike, and 51% thought that they would have both school and parental permission to cycle. Given these figures, it is clear that there are additional factors that prevent people from cycling. A few schools had an outright ban on cycling, but in general, cycling is permitted but not encouraged.
The main reasons for not using a bike were fear of theft (63%) and traffic danger (59%). Bad weather/darkness and fear of attack by strangers were also prominent concerns with 36% of pupils stating these as a worry. It is possible to remedy the first two concerns by providing facilities and reducing traffic as has been successfully achieved in Odense, Denmark. (Tolley 1990) The worries over bad weather and stranger danger are less specific, however children will encounter these two problems whatever their mode of travel, and can always choose not to cycle in poor weather conditions.
Asked what would encourage them to travel to school by bike, 58% wanted a safe place to store bikes, 43% wanted some on-road safety measures, and 22% wanted further cycle training. 18% replied "a school cycling club" and "a safe place to store helmets".
When these figures are looked at in detail by gender, it is clear that in general, girls are more worried about cycling to or from school than boys, as can be seen below.
The fear of fast moving traffic is a much larger for girls and the worries about bad weather and darkness are double, girls are also more concerned about getting up hills. The perception of being laughed at is more than double, but still only affects one sixth of girls. The general lack of confidence and experience is again double, but only voiced by one seventh. Boys are more worried about their bike being stolen and far more likely to say that there is nothing to worry about.
Consequently boys show more demand for safe parking, and girls a higher demand for on road measures and the support of a school cycle club, figures are shown below.
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