Commuting in and out: The relationship between suburbanisation and primary school commuting in the Budapest functional urban area

Abstract

A considerable proportion of daily commuters are primary-school pupils who attend school in settlements different from their residence, not because of the unavailability of schools but as a result of their parents' choice. This phenomenon is quite apparent in Central-Eastern European urban areas including the functional urban area of Budapest, where 21% of all primary school pupils commute daily to other settlements. Schoolchildren's commuting to Budapest and other settlements in the agglomeration is especially intensive from suburbs. There has been, however, no research carried out on the connection between suburbanisation and commuting to primary schools.

This study examines the relationship between the intensity and direction of school-related commuting as well as the consequences of daily travel to school. The study is based on municipality-level data on school-related commuting and the analysis of a household survey carried out around Budapest in 2007 based on a sample of 600 primary-school-aged children and their 3053 trips. Suburbanisation is measured with a suburbanisation index combining demographic, social and economic data of the municipalities within the functional urban area.

Our results confirm that school-related commuting is more intensive in suburbia: A moderately strong correlation has been found between the suburbanisation index and the number of pupils out-commuting. Out-commuting is particularly intensive from settlements in close proximity to Budapest. In-commuting is highest in Budapest, which has the largest choice of schools in the region attracting many pupils from outside the city. Cross-commuting is also intensive to the satellite towns of the agglomeration.

Considering the proportion of pupils out-commuting from the municipalities, it is two and a half times higher in the agglomeration of Budapest than in municipalities further from the capital. The difference between the proportions of inbound commuters is, however, only 5%. The proportion of out-commuters is particularly high in the western and north-western sectors of the agglomeration, which are the most suburbanised areas.

A connection between the intensity of suburbanisation and commuting is suggested on the analysis of socio-economic household data. Higher household income, higher qualifications of the parents and two or more cars in the household indicate higher probabilityof children commuting to a primary school in another settlement. Hence, it is likely that a higher degree of suburbanisation causes more intensive commuting to schools in the functional urban area. This has some transport, economic, health and social consequences: commuting by car contributes to traffic congestion; travelling by public transport incurs compensation from the state budget to finance reduced-price bus and train passes; and using transport to go to school instead of walking may affect children's health by reducing the opportunities for physical activity.