Physical Activity Associated with Public Transport Use--a Review and Modelling of Potential Benefits

Overview

Journal Int J Environ Res Public Health

Publisher MDPI

Specialties Environmental Health
Public Health

Date 2012 Aug 2

PMID 22851954

Citations 119

Authors

Chris Rissel

Nada Curac

Mark Greenaway

Adrian Bauman

Affiliations

Soon will be listed here.

Abstract

Active travel, particularly walking and cycling, has been recommended because of the health benefits associated with increased physical activity. Use of public transport generally involves some walking to bus stops or train stations. This paper is a systematic review of how much time is spent in physical activity among adults using public transport. It also explores the potential effect on the population level of physical activity if inactive adults in NSW, Australia, increased their walking through increased use of public transport. Of 1,733 articles, 27 met the search criteria, and nine reported on absolute measures of physical activity associated with public transport. A further 18 papers reported on factors associated with physical activity as part of public transport use. A range of 8-33 additional minutes of walking was identified from this systematic search as being attributable to public transport use. Using "bootstrapping" statistical modelling, if 20% of all inactive adults increased their walking by only 16 minutes a day for five days a week, we predict there would be a substantial 6.97% increase in the proportion of the adult population considered "sufficiently active". More minutes walked per day, or a greater uptake of public transport by inactive adults would likely lead to significantly greater increases in the adult population considered sufficiently active.

Citing Articles

Access to Healthy Built and Natural Environments and Physical Activity and Screen Time in New Zealand Adolescents: A Geospatial Cross-Sectional Study.

Marek L, Wiki J, Mandic S, Spence J, Smith M, Garcia Bengoechea E Geohealth. 2025; 9(1):e2024GH001101.

PMID: 39749226 PMC: 11694138. DOI: 10.1029/2024GH001101.

Get BusActive!: Protocol of a single-blinded randomised controlled trial incentivising public transport use for physical activity gain among young people and adults.

Sharman M, Stanesby O, Jose K, Greaves S, Timperio A, Reid E Contemp Clin Trials Commun. 2024; 42:101367.

PMID: 39319319 PMC: 11421283. DOI: 10.1016/j.conctc.2024.101367.

Children's Health in London and Luton (CHILL) cohort: a 12-month natural experimental study of the effects of the Ultra Low Emission Zone on children's travel to school.

Xiao C, Scales J, Chavda J, Dove R, Tsocheva I, Wood H Int J Behav Nutr Phys Act. 2024; 21(1):89.

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Is public transport a promising strategy for increasing physical activity? Evidence from a study of objectively measured public transport use and physical activity.

Evans J, Stanesby O, Blizzard L, Greaves S, Timperio A, Jose K Int J Behav Nutr Phys Act. 2024; 21(1):91.

PMID: 39160546 PMC: 11331653. DOI: 10.1186/s12966-024-01633-3.

Behavioral change interventions, theories, and techniques to reduce physical inactivity and sedentary behavior in the general population: a scoping review.

El Kirat H, van Belle S, Khattabi A, Belrhiti Z BMC Public Health. 2024; 24(1):2099.

PMID: 39097741 PMC: 11297736. DOI: 10.1186/s12889-024-19600-9.

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