Differences in pupils' school commute characteristics and mode choice based on the household registration system in China

Population mobility and rapid urbanization have caused migrant pupils to have commuting problems. Taking Jinjiang as an example, this research focused on the differences in school commute characteristics and mode choices between pupils from registered households and migrant households. Using two-stage (schools and students) sampling, we designed questionnaires based on pupils' school commuting patterns and collected the data for the two groups. In addition to descriptive statistics, the pupils' choices of weekday active commuting to school were analyzed with a binary logistic model. We found that most pupils commute. Furthermore, for their weekday school commutes, most migrant pupils walk (77.48%) or commute by motorcycle (17.57%), whereas most household registered pupils walk (34.51%) or commute by private car (29.53%) or motorcycle (24.67%). Trip distance has a more significant influence on the active school commuting of household registered pupils than on the active school commuting of migrant pupils. Age significantly affects the commuting of migrant pupils only.