The way people travel has a substantial impact on health. Over reliance on car transportation has personal as well as social health effects. This thesis reports research designed to investigate the role of cultural factors on children's travel. It examined the home and the school in a project that had theoretical and practical objectives.
Theoretically the research sought to ascertain if there is transmission of parental attitudes, norms and patterns of travel behaviour to children. A practical objective was
to determine if school travel initiatives are effective in reducing car dependency for school journeys.
The primary argument is that children learn about travel modes in the same way as other aspects of culture, through agents of socialisation: the family, school, media and
peer groups. The findings were used to develop a social theory of travel mode behaviour, 'travel socialisation'. This focuses on behaviour in the context of the culture
in which people live, examining the role of every day life on travel.
A secondary argument is that to remove 'car dependency' involves changing the social and cultural emphasis on cars as a mode of transport. There is a need to tackle this
from a social policy approach rather than just a 'travel demand' management perspective. The policy implications of the findings address how children, as the next generation of adults, should be socialised to avoid future dependency on car transportation. These include measures aimed at families, employers and everyone who shares the community.
A 'mixed methods' research design utilised qualitative and quantitative data and the main conclusions were strengthened by methodological triangulation. A 'comparative
methods' approach was used in the design and analysis of the research instruments. Key variables were 'number of cars in household' and 'type of school attended'. Primary school children completed travel diaries, pictorial questionnaires and some participated in focus groups. Parents and key persons in schools completed a
questionnaire and some were interviewed. A documentary analysis of the governmental school travel plan promotional literature was undertaken.