Active commuting to school in New Zealand Children (2004–2008): A quantitative analysis Erica A. Hinckson ⁎, Nick Garrett, Scott Duncan Centre for Physical Activity and Nutrition, Auckland University of Technology, Auckland, New Zealand abstract article info Available online 24 February 2011 Keywords: Active commuting Active transport School travel plan Elementary Intervention Urban form Walking school bus Objective. To describe trends in active commuting to school in children from Auckland region, New Zealand following implementation of the School Travel Plan (STP) program. The program included educational initiatives, enforcement activities and urban form changes around school environments. Methods. Active commuting to school was estimated for 57,096 students, aged 5–10 years, from 56 elementary schools. Data were drawn from surveys conducted between 2004 and 2008. Results. There was an overall increase in active commuting by the third year of STP implementation when compared to baseline levels (40.5% to 42.2%), [OR = 2.65, 95% CI = 1.75–4.02]. Students of high socio-economic background improved (38.9% to 39.1%) compared to those from mid [OR = 0.66, 95% CI = 0.82–1.01] and low [OR = 0.47, 95% CI = 0.32–0.68]. STP appealed to senior (43.6% to 44.3%), [OR = 1.33, 95% CI = 1.15–1.53] when compared to junior elementary students. The STP was equally effective in schools with small to medium student rolls compared to large schools (34.1% to 36.5%), [OR = 1.33, 95% CI = 1.09–1.63]. Schools in Auckland city (47.2% to 48.1%), [OR = 1.43, 95% CI = 1.20–1.70] showed significant improvements when compared to schools from North Shore City. Conclusion. The STP was associated with increased active commuting in children after three years of implementation. © 2011 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. Introduction Active commuting and regular physical activity can reduce the risk of obesity and other non-communicable diseases that can develop in adulthood. Engaging in active commuting has been shown to contribute to overall physical activity levels and total fitness. Children who actively commuted to school 5 days a week accumulated 24 min of moderate vigorous physical activity (Sirard et al., 2005) and those who cycled to school were fitter than those who did not (Cooper et al., 2006). In the past few decades, there has been a decline in children's active commuting in many developed countries including USA (McDonald, 2007), UK (Department for Transport, 2008), Canada (Buliung et al., 2009), Australia (Van der Ploeg et al., 2008) and New Zealand (Ministry of Transport, 2008). In the USA, walking and cycling were the most common means of commuting to and from school in the late 1960s, accounting for approximately 41% of all trips (McDonald, 2007). Since then, there has been a steady decline in active transport that has mirrored a rise in car use: over half of children were driven to school by cars in 2001 compared with 17.1% in 1969 (McDonald, 2007). Similar trends were observed in Australian children: between 1971 and 2003, the percentage of children aged 5–9 years who walked to school decreased from 58% to 26%, whereas car reliance increased from 23% to 67% (Van der Ploeg et al., 2008). In New Zealand, the number of schoolchildren that are regularly driven to school more than doubled between 1989/1990 and 1997/1998 (Ministry of Transport, 2008). Given these trends, it is clear that effective interventions for promoting active commuting in children could have significant public health benefits. In Auckland, the largest city in New Zealand, walking has been poorly regarded by planners and transport officials in the past and consequently variable sidewalk upkeep, traffic congestion and lack of traffic safety became major obstacles to active commuting (Mitchell et al., 2007). In addressing these issues, the School Travel Plan (STP) program (part of the wider TravelWise program) was funded by the New Zealand Transport Agency and facilitated by partnerships between the Auckland Regional Transport Authority (ARTA) and local councils. The STP has been implemented in schools across the Auckland region since 2004 with the primary objectives of (1) encouraging active commuting, (2) reducing school-related traffic congestion, and (3) improving neighborhood traffic safety. A unique aspect of the STP program is the collaborative approach to the planning process whereby a travel planner, school staff, council, local commu- nity and other stakeholders work together to develop a plan tailored to the needs of each school. In this study, we examine changes in active commuting over time in 56 elementary schools in Auckland, New Zealand. In particular, we explored the following questions: 1) How Preventive Medicine 52 (2011) 332–336 ⁎ Corresponding author. Fax: +64 9 921 9746. E-mail address: erica.hinckson@aut.ac.nz (E.A. Hinckson). 0091-7435/$ – see front matter © 2011 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. doi:10.1016/j.ypmed.2011.02.010 Contents lists available at ScienceDirect Preventive Medicine journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/ypmed