Mindell, J; Ergler, C; Copland, L; Hopkins, D; Mandic, S; (2019) Policy Recommendations for Encouraging Public Bus Use to School in Dunedin, New Zealand. Presented at: 5th International Conference on Transport and Health: ICTH 2019-Melbourne, Melbourne, Australia.

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Abstract

Background: Adolescents’ obesity rates are increasing while physical activity levels are falling in most high-income countries. Transport to school can be a significant contributor to daily physical activity among adolescents but in New Zealand, many adolescents are driven to school. Public transport journeys usually involve some active transport and therefore could contribute to increasing adolescents’ physical activity when active transport for the whole journey to school is not feasible. This study examined environmental, policy and personal factors as well as perceptions of barriers and enablers of public transport to school among Dunedin adolescents. / Setting: Dunedin, the second largest city in South Island, New Zealand, has a population of approximately 130,000 with 12 secondary schools. Many of Dunedin streets are undulating and the city can be described as sprawling. / Methods: A mixed-method approach was used, drawing on: the public bus survey from Otago School Students Lifestyle Survey (1398 adolescents); Built Environment and Active Transport to School (BEATS) Study focus groups (54 adolescents, 25 parents, 12 teachers); semi-structured interviews (12 principals); interviews with three key informants from local, regional and national agencies; and a policy analysis of 10 relevant local, regional and national transport plans and strategies. / Results: Distance to school, cost, parental trip chaining, built environment features and the weather represent major barriers to Dunedin adolescents using public transport to school. Convenience and safety were also major factors. Current transport planning documents do not favour public health concerns. Policymakers felt that enticing adolescents to use public transport to travel to school is challenging in a society with an embedded car culture. However, stakeholder interviews suggested a slow but positive change, with new investment in Dunedin’s public bus network and real-time information technology to increase the user-friendliness of public transport and address some of the barriers mentioned by students, parents and school principals. Alternative ways of funding public transport were also explored. The findings from this study were used to develop a set of recommendations to inform policy makers. / Conclusions: Public transport use could be enticed by increasing parking prices to discourage driving and trip-chaining for parents; improving bus infrastructure and subsidies; and by changing bus/bus users' perceptions, which requires collaboration between different government authorities. A policy for secondary school students should be developed to address parental, adolescents' and schools' concerns and encourage collaborations between government authorities and schools.

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