Understanding the complexity of children's everyday mobilities: non-instrumental aspects in sustainable transport and planning policy making in Australia

There is a growing body of research recognising the complexity surrounding children's mobilities influenced by multifaceted and relational factors. This is critical in the provision of an evidence base to better inform transport policies aimed at reducing private car usage in countries such as Australia where the private car dominates the everyday mobilities of families with school-aged children.This paper draws on quantitative and qualitative survey data from 296 children aged 9 to 18 and 84 parents living in Melbourne and Adelaide, Australia and investigates children's travel behaviour for accessing their daily educational destinations (both school and extra-curricular activities). The paper utilises concepts such as "transport rationales" and "household elasticity" with an aim to determine the non-instrumental and relational configurations in children's mobility. The findings reveal that children's everyday mobilities and the decision-making behind the significant use of cars to transport children in Australia are highly complex and are based on more than instrumental reasons such as affect, care and comfort. The implications of these findings are discussed in the context of Australian policies to address the high level of private car usage to transport children to their daily destinations.