ReviewThe Journal of school health2015
Walking school buses as a form of active transportation for children-a review of the evidence.
Review in The Journal of school health, 2015. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 21 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
21 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- Strategies and effects of school-based interventions to promote active school transportation by bicycle among children and adolescents: a systematic review.The international journal of behavioral nutrition and physical activity · 2020Pooled it
- Effectiveness of active school transport interventions: a systematic review and update.BMC public health · 2018Pooled it
- Evaluation of a walking school bus program: a cluster randomized controlled trial.The international journal of behavioral nutrition and physical activity · 2024Trial
- Parent Perceptions on a Walking School Bus Program Among Low-Income Families: A Qualitative Study.Journal of physical activity & health · 2019Trial
- Bicycle Trains, Cycling, and Physical Activity: A Pilot Cluster RCT.American journal of preventive medicine · 2017Trial
- Evaluating the Effectiveness of the School-Based Sustainable Innovation for Children Transporting Actively Intervention: Protocol for an Age-Cohort Study.JMIR research protocols · 2026Article
- Article
- Challenges and possibilities when doing research on active school travel interventions in a school setting - a non-randomized pilot study assessing feasibility of an evaluation design.BMC public health · 2025Article
- Stakeholder perspectives on the effects of environmental and socio-economic factors on children's health and learning: a qualitative study in Greater Manchester, England.Frontiers in public health · 2025Article
- Children's active school transportation: an international scoping review of psychosocial factors.Systematic reviews · 2024Article
- Modifying urban planning to promote child health: A scoping review of reviews.Health promotion perspectives · 2024Review
- Active School Commuting in School Children: A Narrative Review of Current Evidence and Future Research Implications.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2023Review
- Systematic Review of Active Travel to School Surveillance in the United States and Canada.Journal of healthy eating and active living · 2023Article
- Parental Perceptions and Perceived Environmental Influences on Active Transport to School in U.S. Inner-City Neighborhoods: Through the Lens of Health Equity.Journal of healthy eating and active living · 2023Article
- Traffic-related air pollution reduction at UK schools during the Covid-19 lockdown.The Science of the total environment · 2021Article
- Just Sit Still and Pay Attention?-A Commentary.The Journal of school health · 2020Article
- Strategies and effects of promising school-based interventions to promote active school transportation by bicycle among children and adolescents: protocol for a systematic review.Systematic reviews · 2019Article
- Physical and Social Contexts of Physical Activity Behaviors of Fifth and Seventh Grade Youth.The Journal of school health · 2018Article
- Does parental support influence children's active school travel?Preventive medicine reports · 2017Article
- Increasing Children's Physical Activity During the School Day.Current obesity reports · 2015Review
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
6 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundWalking school buses (WSBs) offer a potentially healthier way for children to get to school while reducing traffic congestion. A number of pressing societal challenges make it timely to evaluate evidence of their value.
methodsStudies that focused solely on WSBs were identified through online and manual literature searches. Twelve WSB studies involving a total of 9169 children were reviewed. Study aims, designs, methods, outcomes, and barriers and facilitators were examined.
resultsWSBs were found to be associated with increased prevalence of walking to school and general activity levels although not always significantly. Time constraints emerged as barriers to WSBs, impacting on recruitment of volunteers and children to the WSBs. Facilitators of WSBs included children enjoying socializing and interacting with the environment.
conclusionsPreliminary evidence of the health value of WSBs was demonstrated, along with recommendations for the design of future studies. By tackling barriers of time constraints, volunteer recruitment, and parents' safety concerns while at the same time, increasing convenience and time savings for families, future WSBs are likely to be more sustainable and taken up by more schools. Implications for future innovation in school health were identified.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.