Child Independent Mobility in South Africa: The Case of Cape Town and its Hinterland

Abstract

This article reports upon research conducted amongst schoolchildren aged 7–15 years, and their parents, aimed at exploring independent child mobility in the context of Cape Town and selected towns and rural settlements within its hinterland. The findings of two surveys are discussed. The first was conducted in 2010 and 2011 as part of an international collaborative study on child mobility. The second was conducted in 2010 to assess the prospects of school travel planning practices in the local context. The key findings of the surveys are discussed in terms of how independently mobile children are, how this varies, and how it has changed. It was found that independent mobility varied considerably between wealthy and poor households, and across age and gender. Children from poorer households were heavily reliant on walking (88% share of school trips), and were independently mobile at a relatively young age (67% of seven-year-olds were allowed to travel from school alone). Children from wealthier households appear to have experienced a rapid decline in independent mobility over the past three decades (no seven-year-olds were allowed to travel from school alone), and were heavily reliant on the car (87% share of school trips).