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Abstract

Understanding the factors and addressing the barriers associated with children’s cycling independence are crucial to developing recommendations to improve and increase bicycling independence in children. This study examines the ways different stakeholders in the City of Vancouver can accomplish this goal. Through research of scholarly sources, personal and expert interviews and segmentation marketing techniques, this study finds that there are four themes that act as determining factors for when parents let their children bicycle independently. These include environmental factors and the built environment, the distance to the destination, the age of the child and the parents’ travel mode choice. The recommendations that are presented in this study are based on the Active Aspirer and Practical Traveller segment groups from the Intelligent Energy Europe’s (IEE) SEGMENT project. This study presents recommendations for three groups, the City of Vancouver, the Vancouver School Board, and different cycling advocacy groups throughout the city. The City of Vancouver should improve and expand existing cycling infrastructure and implement a citywide Safe Route to School Program. The Vancouver School Board should implement “bicycle school buses” for each school in the district and provide educational materials and programs for parents and children. Cycling advocacy groups in the city can improve children’s cycling independence by increasing awareness of programs and resources available to children and families to promote healthy and active behaviors.