elopment, parks and recreation, city management, and municipal legislatures in 83 urban areas across 8 states in 2012.
Zwald, M., Eyler, A., Goins, K., Brownson, R., Schmid, T., & Lemon, S. (2014). Understanding Municipal Officials' Involvement in Transportation Policies Supportive of Walking and Bicycling. Journal of Public Health Management & Practice. 0(0), 1-8.
- There is promising evidence that walking school buses (WSBs) can impact children’s health and safety skills, and supporting facilitators and eliminating barriers to WSBs could improve program sustainability.
- Three studies demonstrated a positive relationship between WSBs and proportions of children walking to school through self-report, and three studies showed an association between WSBs and increased activity levels using accelerometers, although not always at statistically significant levels.
- Two studies reported savings in car journeys as a result of WSBs.
- One study found that WSB schools had a five-fold improvement in children crossing at intersections instead of non-intersection locations.
- Child and parent enjoyment during participation, parents’ time savings, and effective information provision and promotion were key facilitators of WSBs.
- Parent road safety concerns were the most common barrier across the literature, cited in 10 of 12 studies.
- Recruitment of volunteers and children to participate was also a common challenge, and time commitment from coordinators, variable family travel schedules, and lower motivation in winter months can affect recruitment.
- This systematic review examined 12 studies conducted between 2001 and 2012 that focused solely on WSBs. These studies included 326 schools in a variety of socio-demographic contexts in Australia, New Zealand, and the United States.
- Studies generally focused on either the impact of WSBs on child activity, health, and safety, or barriers and facilitators to implementation.
Smith, L, Norgate, SH, Cherrett, T, Davies, N, Wistanley, C and Harding, M. (2015.) Walking school buses 