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Prevalence and Correlates of Short Car Trips that Could be Replaced with Walking or Cycling
Abstract   Peer reviewed

Prevalence and Correlates of Short Car Trips that Could be Replaced with Walking or Cycling

Rachel Cole, Neville Owen, Mohammad Javad Koohsari and Takemi Sugiyama
6th International Congress on Physical Activity and Public Health Book of Abstracts, p.94
International Congress on Physical Activity and Public Health (ISPAH): Active Living for ALL: Active People, Active Place and Active Policy, 6th (Bangkok, Thailand, 16-Nov-2016–19-Nov-2016)
2016
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http://www.ispah2016.org/View
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Abstract

Human Movement and Sports Science Public Health and Health Services travel-related physical activity walking cycling household travel survey short car trips
Purpose: Many short trips are made by car. Replacing them with walking or cycling will have multiple benefits. Previous studies have not distinguished between short car trips that could be walked and those that could be made by bicycle. We assessed the prevalence of short car trips made by adults (18 to 64 yr) that could be either walked or cycled. Methods: Twenty-four hour travel diary data from the 2009 South-East Queensland Household Travel Survey were used. We defined trips < 1.8km one way (and < 3.6km both ways) as able to be walked; and, trips 1.9-8.1km one way (and 3.7-16.2km both ways) as potentially able to be made by bicycle. Trips for the purpose of delivering something, or to take another person to a destination were excluded, as they may not be conveniently walked or cycled. Multilevel logistic regression analyses were used to examine the correlates of short car trips, adjusting for sociodemographic variables and correcting for spatial clustering. Results: A total o 28,562 trips were made on the survey day by 13,297 participants. Of these, 23,963 (83.9%) were made by car. Trips that could be walked and cycled were 11.6% (2,779) and 22.7% (5,428) of total car trips, respectively. Correlates of short car trips were older age, being female, not working, owning 2+ cars, and lower area-level socio-economic status. Higher population density was associated with short car trips that could be cycled, but not with those that could be walked. Conclusions: We found that approxi ately one third of adults' car trips are short enough to be done by either walking or cycling, and that such short trips by car are more prevalent in disadvantaged areas. Addressing these alternatives to short car trips is a potential target of future public health and urban planning initiatives.

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