Bikes in Schools and Biking to School: Can One Support the Other?

Highest Scoring Abstract: Researcher Background In the last 20 years there has been a dramatic decrease in the proportion of New Zealand children who ride a bike to school, from 12% to 2%. Over this period, New Zealand has also seen record levels of childhood obesity, increased hours of ‘screen time’, and more children being transported in cars – trends that have wider health, social, and environmental impacts. ‘Bikes in Schools’, now in approximately 90 schools in New Zealand, consists of schools building bike tracks in their grounds, and providing bikes and helmets for students to use during lessons and free time. The aim is to increase access to regular bike riding. This study investigated the impact of Bikes in Schools on biking participation and biking to school, and school perceptions of the initiative. Methods A mixed-method, quasi-experimental evaluation, involving 16 schools in New Zealand was conducted. Student survey data and school bike rack counts from 12 schools with Bikes in Schools (intervention), and four schools without (comparison), were compared at baseline and one year later. Key informant interviews were conducted with representatives from intervention schools, followed by thematic analysis to understand perceptions of the initiative. Results The sample included 2,014 students in intervention schools (mean age, 8.93 years), and 542 students in comparison schools (mean age, 8.85 years). Ten school representatives were interviewed. At the one-year follow-up, more students had ridden a bike in the last seven-days in intervention schools than comparison schools (78% vs. 48%). Average bike rack counts indicated limited changes in biking to school across both intervention and comparison schools. However, moderate increases in bike rack counts, were seen at two intervention schools in higher socio-economic areas (indicating that 5.4% and 9.7% more students rode to school). Bikes in Schools were highly valued by schools. Perceived benefits were: improvements in students’ bike skills; increases in physical activity; and, families using the bike tracks for physical activity after school. Conclusions Bikes in Schools creates a safe, social space for students and families to be active on bikes. In the short-term, Bikes in Schools results in students biking more; however, it does not appear to translate to increases in biking to school in most contexts – although longer-term changes may occur. The combination of safe routes to school, Bikes in Schools, and improving access to bikes at home, is worthy of further investigation as a multi-faceted intervention to increase biking to school. Acknowledgements: Bike On NZ Charitable Trust