Understanding the links across commuting, travel satisfaction and well-being

Akosile, Damilola 2021. Understanding the links across commuting, travel satisfaction and well-being. PhD Thesis, Cardiff University. Item availability restricted.

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Abstract

This study examines the potential link across commuting, travel satisfaction, subjective well-being, and overall well-being in the city of Cardiff with a view to developing a framework for the improvement of commuters’ well-being within the area. Recent evidence provides some proof of the link across commuting, travel satisfaction and well-being, but this has only lately emerged in the international literature. Moreover, previous studies and related analyses have been heavily reliant on cross-sectional data between either commuting and travel satisfaction or commuting and subjective well-being with the link across commuting, travel satisfaction and subjective well-being primarily missing. Using a novel, real-time, online smartphone-based longitudinal survey, the temporal context of commuting characteristics and travel satisfaction on subjective well-being is investigated. The findings from the study suggest that travel satisfaction is positively associated with well-being, indicating that the more people are satisfied with their travel the higher their well-being. The socio-demographic characteristics of respondents is a significant predictor for their travel satisfaction and well-being, with age and income being of notable importance. People in the midlife age were the unhappiest and higher income does not always mean more happiness within the study. Also, the relationship across household cars, travel satisfaction and well-being was discovered to be paradoxical – more cars in the household meant lower travel satisfaction ratings but higher levels of well-being. Active commuters were the most satisfied commuters in the study with cycling commuters being the happiest. Car commuters were the unhappiest, ranking lowly for both satisfaction with travel and well-being. While commute time negatively influence both travel satisfaction and well-being, the influence of commute distance on travel satisfaction and well-being was heterogenous. Finally, people’s moods were generally positive all through their journey, but their concentration levels drop later at their destination resulting in them becoming less active and more tired at work and/or home. These findings suggest that policies that promote full multi-modal travel while restricting car use will help focus people’s attention on other travel modes within the city, shaping and/or changing their travel behaviour in turn.

Item Type:	Thesis (PhD)
Date Type:	Completion
Status:	Unpublished
Schools:	Geography and Planning (GEOPL)
Subjects:	G Geography. Anthropology. Recreation > G Geography (General)
Uncontrolled Keywords:	commute distance, commute mode, commute time, commuting, mood, spill-over, travel satisfaction, and well-being.
Funders:	self
Date of First Compliant Deposit:	20 October 2021
Last Modified:	10 Dec 2022 02:56
URI:	https://orca.cardiff.ac.uk/id/eprint/144926

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