Data informs our work – and this is what it is telling us
As a charity, Youth en Route works hard to make sure kids have access to active modes of transportation and the desire and confidence to use them. Encouraging the use of active transportation reduces car usage and greenhouse gas emissions. However, it is evident that kids are hesitant to embrace these modes of transportation because they lack skills, confidence, and tools.
Our efforts are guided by a combination of qualitative and quantitative data gathered from students and parents through comprehensive school travel surveys. Through the compilation of 10 Infrastructure reports and our active involvement in numerous schools across Calgary, we have collected close to 2,500 surveys. This information provides valuable insights into the youth population and the challenges they face when it comes to adopting active transportation.
Here is what our data shows us:
In Calgary, about 14 per cent of kids get steps in on way to school…
According to the survey responses from 2,405 students across 12 schools, 14 per cent of kids walk in Calgary high schools as their primary mode of transportation. But the average doesn’t paint a true picture. Some schools, where kids live close by, Like Queen Elizabeth Senior and Junior High, a whole 43 per cent walk. But at five schools, under 10 per cent walk. The lowest is Henry Wise Wood High School where four per cent of the students walk to class.
Calgary Transit drives kids to school, but it can take a while
In contrast, the usage of the C Train/Calgary Transit bus among students is at 31 per cent which is lower than we expected. Public transit should reduce congestion and offer an affordable transportation option, but our data suggests that Calgary Transit is not meeting students’ convenience needs and is often too expensive for them to use.
According to James Fowler teacher, Michelle Bjolverud, “Some of our students come from communities as far away as Redstone and Skyview. Their bus ride to school can be upwards of an hour or more depending on traffic and weather. More bike racks on buses and safer bike paths could provide the students the opportunity to bike to and from school.”
In Calgary, Calgary Transit partners with CBE and CCSD schools to get students directly from their communities to school. These “shuttle buses” aren’t always that quick.
Another notable percentage, 15.62 per cent of students rely on Calgary Transit charters or express routes directly from their home communities. Concerns arise when these buses are overcrowded leading some students to find alternative ways home.
Fowler, Pearson and Scarlett schools have the highest percentage of students using CT Direct from the community buses ranging between 26 per cent and 30 per cent However, many students express concerns about bringing their bikes on public transit due to safety and inconvenience.
If we take a look, out of 25 per cent of kids who take Direct Transit to their communities from Dr. E. P. Scarlett High school, all take on average half an hour to get home, if they don’t get stuck waiting for the shuttle bus in the first place.
From Scarlet to Lake Bonavista, a designated neighbourhood located only four km away, it takes students at least 20 mins to get to school. That does not include transit wait times.We’re trying to get students to understand that often, riding a bike is much faster than bussing.
Biking
Unfortunately, biking as a response barely shows up amongst students. It is important to keep in mind that this number can be wrong if the survey sample is small. If only a couple of students at a school bike, they might not show up in a survey of 200 students.
Top 10 biking schools:
- Forest Lawn High School: 4.23%
- Robert Thirsk High School: 3.20%
- John D. Diefenbaker High School: 2.65%
- Lord Beaverbrook High School : 2.56%
- Queen Elizabeth High School: 2.40%
- Our Lady of the Rockies High School: 1.83%
- Dr. E.P Scarlett High School: 1.70%
- Henry Wise Wood High School: 1.48%
- Crescent heights High School: 1.45%
- Bishop McNally High School: 1.11%
Bike Accessibility
It was found that 60 per cent of students have access to a bicycle, while 40 do not own a bike or share one with a parent or sibling. As part of our mission to encourage biking, this statistic is a huge barrier.
If you don’t have a bike – you don’t have the skills to ride and probably don’t even know what you’re missing. That’s why our bike fleets at schools, which gives kids riding experiences in classes helps a lot. Once the kids try riding, they don’t want to stop. They end up wanting to get a bicycle.
Evidence has shown that when provided with the necessary tools, students tend to use them effectively. For instance, since providing Forest Lawn High School with bike fleets for Physical Education and English Learner classes and implementing a safe and sustainable YER Design bike rack, there has been a significant increase in daily bike riders.
2021: 2.62% 2022: 4.23%,
If students had bikes, they’d use them
One survey question asked why don’t they ride to school. Answer choices includes one that says “No bike, otherwise I’d use it.” This shows us the potential to increase bike riding rates if we were able to get students bikes.
At Forest Lawn, 21 per cent of students said they’d ride if they owned a bike. Numbers are over 15 per cent at Bishop McNally (17%) , and Lester B. Pearson (16%) This motivates us to work harder to deliver opportunities for students to try bike riding and foster active transportation habits.
Experience
Shockingly, 5.6 per cent of the 2,500 surveyed individuals have never ridden a bicycle.
The highest percentage at Forest Lawn High School at 9.63 per cent and the lowest percentage at Queen Elizabeth with three per cent.
For this question we asked students to rate their personal cycling skills from Never ridden, they can ride, but not confidently, Some (confident on pathways but not roads) to Lots I’m comfortable riding everywhere.
When we look at the kids that say a bit – they can ride, but not confidently, we get a pretty big co-hort with limited skills. At Forest Lawn, the total in those categories is 22 per cent, while at Lester B. Pearson about 20 per cent of students don’t have cycling skills.
Across the city, only 53 per cent of students know how to ride a bicycle proficiently and are confident to ride anywhere. Which means that 47 per cent of students can’t consider a bike as a mode of transportation because of the lack of skills. Our work on education is vitally important.
We want to provide more bike fleets and encourage biking education during gym classes at more schools so that each student has the ability to experience the joy of riding a bike.
Driving
Top 10 driving schools
- Lord Beaverbrook High School: 52.56%
- Lester B. Pearson High School: 50.01%
- Our Lady of the Rockies High School: 43.11%
- Robert Thirsk High School: 40.38%
- Forest Lawn High School: 38.63%
- Dr. E.P Scarlett High School: 38.30%
- John D. Diefenbaker High School: 38.04%
- Crescent Heights High School: 36.23%
- Bishop McNally High School: 32.22%
- Henry Wise Wood High School: 29.62%
Lord Beaverbrook High School has the highest percentage of drivers to school. Whether it is through carpooling, help from the parents or independently, 52.56 per cent of kids use a car to get to school.
15 per cent of the survey participants live in the nearby communities like Willow Park, Acadia, Fairview, Maple Ridge and Lake Bonavista and 16 percent take less than 10 mins to get to school by car.
Here are the timely data specifics on how long it takes for car users to go to school on a good day. This raises the question of if it would be quicker and more sustainable for those students to walk or to bike instead of possibly hitting congested traffic areas during the school rush hour.
Overall from data collected from the 12 schools, 22 per cent of kids are driven to school by their parents, potentially due to safety concerns or limited transportation options. Only three per cent carpool with other students.
On average, seven per cent of kids drive themselves, either by having their driver’s license or being financially stable enough for private transportation. Car usage is often the quickest way to get to school, but not during peak hours and is not sustainable for our environment at all.
Only two per cent use bikes as their mode of transportation, and one per cent opt for other methods such as skateboarding.
The students’ transportation choices depend on various factors, including convenience, accessibility, safety, and environmental consciousness. There is a need for safer infrastructure and more bike education in schools to encourage active transportation options, especially for students living within a feasible biking distance from school.
That is what we are trying to accomplish here.
The time it takes to get to school
The time it takes for students to commute to school is sometimes astonishing, with journeys lasting an hour or longer. Considering that attending school is mandatory, the prolonged wait for buses or dealing with congested traffic on routes due to long distances is far from ideal.
While relocating students or constructing new schools may not always be the practical solutions, we can explore more efficient transit options that allow students to easily use buses and trains with their bicycles, making the commute shorter, more direct, and environmentally sustainable.
Based on the data, the majority of students at James Fowler High School reporting 79 per cent, Crescent Heights High School reporting 66 per cent, and Robert Thirsk High School reporting 41 per cent feel that biking from their homes to their schools is simply too far.
These high schools draw students from a wide range of communities, both nearby and at long distances. For example, James Fowler accepts students from Highwood, Highland park communities, the school also takes in students from Cattleridge and Redstone which are located on the city’s outskirts, making it very difficult for those students to use only active modes of transportation the whole way and back.
About 30 per cent of students are enthusiastic about active transportation
We ask students if they’d consider biking to school, and the numbers vary from a low of 23.45 per cent at James Fowler High School and a high of 60.32 per cent at Forest Lawn High School . Even if we could just get the students that are open to cycling to choose that mode, even on 100 days of the school year – we’d have a whole lot of car trips. This would have a significant positive impact on both students and our city.
Many students would also be more incentivised to bike to school if they received credits as a reward for their hard work every morning and afternoon. At Pearson, 60 per cent of students would consider biking to school if Physical Education marks or credits. At Lady of the Rockies it is 51 per cent. Motivation is a big driver that schools and administrators should consider.
As convenience and travel time are crucial factors, demonstrating that active travel like walking or biking can be quicker in more cases than vehicles can encourage kids to adapt the habit for their own time sake. Also, showing the emissions from vehicles could potentially also shift youth’s minds.
