Alarming changes in youth mobility: Primary school pupils in Novo Mesto
Alarming changes in youth mobility: Primary school pupils in Novo Mesto

Summary/Abstract: This article explores the travel habits of young people in Slovenia over the past thirty years and seeks to explain the reasons for a complete change in their travel patterns. It focuses on the travel habits of primary school pupils as a special group of traffic participants and urban space users. We compared data from 1991, 2001 and 2016 on primary school pupils’ travel habits, car ownership, school locations and catchment area sizes, along with traffic regulation around primary schools. Based on this, we established that the patterns for Slovenia correspond to patterns from abroad. The substantial changes in children’s travel patterns coincide with the intense motorisation of Slovenian towns, which has grown to proportions that even exceed those in many developed countries. This increase in car ownership is reflected in growing car use. The activities currently carried out in schools regarding traffic management are not helping stop this trend. A change is required in the traffic safety paradigm. Consideration of children’s mobility must become part of comprehensive transport planning, which should be geared towards reducing and calming traffic in school areas by setting up infrastructure that discourages car use and encourages safe alternatives.

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