Publish at April 27 2021 Updated March 02 2023
The walk to school is one of those rituals embedded in our memory, sometimes more so than classes. Personally, I remember those walks in both summer heat and polar cold to elementary school. Then, when high school arrived, it was public transportation that got me to the training institutions. I could count on my fingers the number of times my parents had to transport me by car. Yet, when we look at transportation habits in 2021, it seems that everything has changed.
The Moby program, developed by Eco CO2, surveyed French parents on this issue of transportation to school. Conducted in September 2020, the survey revealed that nearly a third (30%) of students traveled by car for individual use, 25% went by foot, 19% by bus and 18% by school bus, and in the end only 2% used bicycles.
When parents are questioned, the main criteria are the safety of the child, speed and cost. However, the overly present use of the automobile does not help society's ecological footprint. Moreover, adults are aware of this but they are too afraid for the safety of young people, the weather conditions that can be hazardous and sometimes it is unsuitable for long distances. Another survey made in August 2020 for Unicef showed even higher figures of car use: 47% use it all the time and 23% from time to time.
However, when asked, they would be much more in agreement that public authorities prioritize active mobility such as walking, cycling or scootering. For them, free transportation, safe pedestrian spaces and more bicycle paths should be introduced. For Eco CO2, this was a gap they could open by proposing the Moby project to schools in France. The idea being to promote "ecomobility," meaning more environmentally friendly transportation that allows students to get where they need to go, whether it's school or home.
So, the project is working to set up racks to store bikes and scooters safely, a group bike program where students and adults ride together and even a pedibus where young and old walk as a group to school and also back.
These solutions, the Moby Project thought of them as a way to reassure parents about the number one issue for them: safety. Obviously, some are rather skeptical about this change of mentality. On the other hand, it seems that institutions and municipalities are quietly taking notice. In Saint-Herblain, initiatives are being put in place so that the car is used less in transporting children. In Cheptainville, in Essonne, there was already the introduction of a pedibus and since September 2020, the use of a pedal car has been considered. It must be said that this new travel strategy has been facilitated by the opening of a bike lane on the main road that serves the neighborhood furthest from the facility.
Whether in France, in Great Britain or elsewhere, the issue of ecomobility relies on the involvement of public services. Indeed, to promote different approaches to transportation that are more environmentally friendly and that take students out of sedentary lifestyles, we still need infrastructure and urban planning thought out accordingly. Already in 2011, a Quebec report from the Ministère des Affaires municipales, des Régions et de l'Occupation du Territoire summed up ecomobility by thinking the city in terms of short trips. By designing neighborhoods around greener travel, this encourages its adoption by citizens. On this, Quebec's Vélo Québec is actually advocating fiercely for more bike transportation to school.
Ecomobility also requires thinking differently about public transit. The Moby project focused on making school buses more efficient by using them less and more intelligently. The use of public transportation during visits to museums or elsewhere have, according to this study, an impact on students who are more likely to consider using it to get to their educational institution. So there is no one-size-fits-all solution and this is encouraging for the territories. Everyone can implement environmentally friendly approaches to reducing transportation energy needs, depending on their realities.
Illustration : Abe Baali on Unsplash
References :
Chassignet, Mathieu. "Mobility To School: A Public Health Issue Too Often Forgotten By Public Policy." Les Blogs D'Alternatives Économiques. Last updated December 7, 2020. https://blogs.alternatives-economiques.fr/chassignet/2020/12/07/la-mobilite-vers-l-ecole-un-enjeu-de-sante-publique-trop-souvent-oublie-des-politiques-publiques.
"In the School Environment." Vélo Québec. Accessed April 23, 2021.
https://www.velo.qc.ca/boites-a-outils/promotion-et-education/en-milieu-scolaire/.
"En Quoi Consiste Le Projet D'écomobilité Scolaire Auquel Sont Inscrites Six écoles De Bernay Et Autour?" Paris-Normandie. Last updated: December 18, 2020.
https://www.paris-normandie.fr/id149486/article/2020-12-18/en-quoi-consiste-le-projet-decomobilite-scolaire-auquel-sont-inscrites-six.
"Let's Transform the 'school Run' to Protect Children's Health and Their Future, Say Charities." Campaign for Better Transport. Last updated August 27, 2020.
https://bettertransport.org.uk/lets-transform-school-run-protect-childrens-health-and-their-future-say-charities.
PresseOcean. "Saint-Herblain. Des Actions Pour Favoriser L'écomobilité Dans Les écoles." Nantes Maville. Last updated: February 10, 2021.
https://nantes.maville.com/actu/actudet_--saint-herblain.-des-actions-pour-favoriser-l-ecomobilite-dans-les-ecoles-_8-4492104_actu.Htm.
"Promoting Ecomobility In School Travel." Rooftop Plus. Last updated: March 29, 2021.
https://www.abri-plus.com/actualites/promouvoir-lecomobilite-dans-les-deplacements-scolaires.
Rocher, Clement. "Colleges Engage In A School Ecomobility Program." The Student. Last updated: January 6, 2021.
https://www.letudiant.fr/college/des-colleges-s-engagent-dans-un-programme-d-ecomobilite-scolaire.html.
"School Ecomobility Survey." Moby. Last updated: December 17, 2020.
https://www.moby-ecomobilite.fr/sondage-ecomobilite-scolaire/.
Treiblmaier, Horst, Lisa-Maria Putz, and Sarah Pföser. "(PDF) Field Trips for Sustainable Transport Education: Impact on Knowledge, Attitude and Behavioral Intention." ResearchGate. Last updated July 2018.
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/326200322_Field_Trips_for_Sustainable_Transport_Education_Impact_on_Knowledge_Attitude_and_Behavioral_Intention.
Vaury, Teddy. "Essonne: Une Voiture à Pédale Pour Aller à L'école à Cheptainville." Le Républicain. Last updated: September 23, 2020.
https://www.le-republicain.fr/a-la-une/essonne-une-voiture-a-pedale-pour-aller-a-lecole-a-cheptainville.
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