In recent years, transportation planning has devoted new attention to the goal of increasing the non-motorized trips of children and adults, both as a mean of increasing physical activity and as a mean of reducing motorized trips. For children, much discussion has focused on the journey to school, with little attention to non-school trips. In this study we examine patterns of travel of both children and their parents to youth soccer games in Davis, California. The study aims to identify factors influencing mode choice among children and parents to soccer games for the Davis American Youth Soccer Organization (AYSO). Data come from a survey of 1,084 parents accompanying their children to Saturday soccer games. Over three quarters of players and their parents drove to the game on the day of the survey, with less than 20% biking. Multivariate models show that distance to games is a significant deterrent to bicycling or walking to games, while players who bike to school and whose parents regularly bicycle are significantly more likely to bicycle to games.
Abstract