Research on the Impact of the Built Environment on the Characteristics of Metropolis Rail Transit School Commuting-Take Wuhan as an Example

The long-distance commute to school caused by urban sprawl and the car-oriented urban construction model are key factors leading to primary/middle school students being picked up by their parents in cars. Encouraging those students to take rail transit can reduce their dependence on cars. This paper uses a stepwise regression based on rail-transit swipe data to explore the influence of the built environment on rail-transit commuting characteristics in Wuhan, and uses a geographically weighted regression (GWR) model to analyze the spatial heterogeneity of significant influencing variables. The study found that: (1) 60% of students are one-way commuters; (2) 88.6% of students travel less than 10 km; (3) the floor area ratio, bus station density and whether the station is a transfer station have an obvious positive effect on the flow of commuters; (4) whether the station is a departure station has a positive effect on the commuting distance, but the mixed degree of land use and road density have a negative effect on the commuting distance. This research can assist cities in formulating built environment optimization measures and related policies to improve school-age children’s use of rail transit. This is important in the development of child-friendly cities.