The line graph illustrates the number of journeys made by U.S. schoolchildren using six different modes of transportation, such as walking, cycling, bus, taxi, car, and train, between 1970 and 2020.
Overall, the data shows a clear shift towards motorised transport, particularly cars, taxis, and trains. While walking showed some fluctuations, bus and cycling showed a steady trend over the 50-year period.
It is noticeable that car trip distances increased roughly from 20 miles to 30 miles, particularly between 1970 and 2000, while walking travel distances dropped significantly from around 16 miles to under 4 miles by 2000. On the contrary, by 2020, car travel had fallen slowly to about 3 miles, whereas walking saw a slight growth to 6 miles. As for the taxi and train, these modes remained lower in overall distances throughout the period. Taxi and train started at 5 and 15 miles respectively in 1970, and by 2020, these figures had peaked at around 20 and 22 miles respectively.
In contrast, the bus had the longest average trip distance during the 50-year period. Bus travel started roughly at 28 miles in 1970, and by 2020 had increased steadily to 38 miles. On the other hand, cycling fell steadily from 28 miles to approximately 18 miles.