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Per the article, only 1.7% of schoolchildren take the bus, the vast majority walk, like many of us did.

Isn't this just due to population density? If you live in a dense area the schools have to be fairly close together (or absolutely sprawling), so most would be in walking distance for the students.

In the states a great many kids live 5+ miles from school, which is a pretty long walk for a first grader.

Bus usage is negligible in large cities.

They take the trains/subway.

The study includes all public transportation in the 1.7%, citing the number of "walkers" at 98.3%: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3477970/

When you refer to large cities, are you referring exclusively to Japanese cities? In Europe, buses are an integral part of the transport network in many major cities.

Yes, only Japan.

The train usually reigns supreme.

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