The health benefits of bicycling to school among adolescents in China: A propensity score matching study.

Background: A large number of high-income countries are now promoting active commuting to school as an opportunity for adolescents to increase physical activity (PA) and improve their health. Few studies have examined the multiple benefits of active travel to school among adolescents in developing countries, especially in China. Hence, this study aims to estimate the effects of bicycling to school on adolescents' subjective health, physical health, and sickness absence. Methods: Self-reported and cross-sectional data from 6,353 school-aged children (12-19 years old) in the 2014-2015 China Education Panel Survey (CEPS2014-2015) were used. The independent variable was a binary, self-reported indicator of whether children bicycled to school. The dependent variables included subjective health (self-reported health, mental stress), physical health (BMI, kidney disease, lung disease, heart disease, brain disease, upper limb fracture, lower limb fracture, and sickness frequency), and sickness absence. Propensity score matching (PSM) was used to estimate the causal effects of bicycling to school on adolescents' health. Results: Bicycling to school positively affects both subjective and physical health. Those students who biked to school were associated with a higher self-rated health status, a healthier weight, a lower level of mental stress, and a lower risk of developing brain diseases. No significant relation is found between bicycling and sickness frequency, and sickness absence. Moreover, we separately compared the bicycling group with the walking group and the non-active travel group. There is still evidence that cycling is beneficial for students. Compared with walking to school, cycling to school resulted in a higher self-rated health score and a lower mental stress score. Physically, students who bicycled to school were less likely to be absent from school and suffer from kidney and brain diseases than students who walked to school. However, we do not find a significant difference in health outcomes from cycling compared to non-active modes of transportation. Further, differentiation of the health effects of bicycling across living areas shows that health effects are more pronounced for those living in edge and rural areas. Conclusion: These findings provide evidence of the value of promoting bicycling to school in improving various adolescents' health outcomes in transitional China.

The Impact of Urban Rail Transit Epidemic Prevention Measures on Passengers' Safety Perception.

In 2020, COVID-19 triggered concern about the safety of public transport. To meet passengers' expectations regarding safety, the public transport department has stepped up its pandemic prevention services. Some prevention services require passengers to follow mandatory requirements. However, whether and to what extent these requirements affect passenger satisfaction with public transportation services remains unclear. This study aims to construct an integrated framework to explore the direct and indirect relationships between four constructs (regular services quality, pandemic prevention service, psychological distance, and safety perception) and passengers' satisfaction in the context of urban rail transit services. Based on survey data collected from 500 passengers on the Shanghai Metro, this paper examines the relationships between routine service, pandemic prevention measures, safety perceptions, and satisfaction with the service. The results from the structural equation model indicate that routine service (0.608), pandemic prevention measures (0.56), and safety perception (0.05) have positive effects on passenger satisfaction. Psychological distance negatively impacts safety perception (-0.949) and has indirect effects on passenger satisfaction. Further, in order to identify the service improvements that public transportation departments should focus on, we use the three-factor theory to identify the services that should be improved: Basic factors, such as "punctual arrival of metros", "treatment of harmful garbage", "increasing frequency of platform disinfection", and "measurement of station temperature" should be treated as the first priority. As the second improvement priority, "the planning of metro stations can accommodate my travel scope" can be considered. Last, public transportation departments can enhance the exciting factor by installing "metro entrance signs" when resources are available.

How School Travel Affects Children's Psychological Well-Being and Academic Achievement in China.

Previous research on the role of school travel in children's well-being (WB) has paid little attention to developing countries. Using national survey data across China, this study examines how children's psychological well-being (PWB) and academic performance differ across commute duration and mode among urban, rural, and urban fringe areas. Our findings show that commute times are significantly negatively associated with children's PWB and academic achievements, and this correlation varies across areas. Children living in the urban fringe have the longest average one-way commuting time (18.6 min), but they have a better acceptance of longer commuting duration, whereas commuting time is more influential in the city center and rural areas. Regarding travel mode, walking to school is positively associated with PWB in the center area, while bicycles and public transport positively affect the rural student scores. Results from quantile regression show that students on the lower quantiles of the conditional distribution of PWB tend to suffer more than the others when commuting time increases; students with middle scores respond similarly to marginal changes in commuting time. Recommendations for urban planners and policymakers to enhance child WB include fostering school-home balance, improving public transit services, and investing in pedestrian and bicycle infrastructure for those vulnerable groups.