Satisfaction with the commute: The role of travel mode choice, built environment and attitudes

TL;DR: In this paper, the authors explored the role of the built environment or travel attitudes, two important factors for transport policies, and found that attitudes have both direct and indirect effects on commute satisfaction, while built environment only has indirect effects through influencing commuting characteristics.

Abstract: Most of previous research that investigates the connections between the travel and satisfaction with travel has focused on the effect of the travel characteristics (e.g. travel mode choice, travel time, level of service, etc.) on satisfaction with travel. Little research has explored the role of the built environment or travel attitudes, two important factors for transport policies. Using data from a recent survey conducted in Xi’an, China, this study aims to quantitatively explore the relative effects of the built environment, travel attitudes, and travel characteristics on commute satisfaction. The data was analyzed using structural equation modeling. The model results suggest that commuting characteristics, including mode choice, congestion, and level of services of transit, all directly influence commute satisfaction. Attitudes have both direct and indirect effects on commute satisfaction, while the built environment only has indirect effects through influencing commuting characteristics.

Summary

Introduction

• Subjective wellbeing (SWB), as an alternative and enrichment to utility, has recently attracted significant attention from transportation researchers.
• Finally, few of these studies focus on commuting trips and commuting satisfaction.
• Previous research on Chinese cities has primarily focused on Beijing, Shanghai, and Guangzhou, the mega cities of China, those with a population over 10 million.

Conceptual Model

• Previous research linking the built environment and attitudes with travel behavior and travel satisfaction provides the conceptual basis of the analysis.
• Variables measuring the built environment can be classified into five dimensions (5D): density, diversity, design, destinations and distances to transit (Ewing and Cervero, 2010).
• First, the self-selection hypothesis (Mokhtarian and Cao, 2008; Van Wee, 2009) contends that people choose home locations with built-environment characteristics that, at least to some extent, confirm their travel-related attitudes.
• People might also self-select with respect to work locations (Van Wee, 2009).
• The inverse causality between the built environment, travel attitudes, travel mode, and travel satisfaction is also plausible.

Data and Methods

• The data used in this study was gathered through a specially designed survey.
• The land use GIS layer was acquired from the Xi’an Bureau of City Planning.
• Due to a lack of precise GIS data on the street network, especially data on minor streets within residential neighborhoods, the authors decided not use a network buffer as the basis for calculating the built environment variables.
• Similarly, three principal factors were extracted for the job environment: (1) access to transit; (2) close to greenery; and (3) car dependence.
• 11 The data was analyzed using structural equation modeling (SEM).

Model Results

• A model specified as in Figure 3, which is a simplified version of the conceptual model, was estimated.
• 12 Effects of travel characteristics on travel satisfaction Different levels of travel satisfaction were observed among commuters with different travel modes.
• Effects of socio-demographics on travel satisfaction Studies have found that Danwei housed commuters have shorter commuting distances and higher usage of non-motorized transport mode (Wang and Chai, 2009) than those living in other types of accommodation.
• This is probably because job locations that are close to greenery are located around the city wall, which is a traffic bottleneck in Xi’an.

Conclusion

• Studies linking travel and satisfaction with travel have recently received increasing attention in the field of transportation.
• Model results suggest that the built environment has no direct effect on commute satisfaction, while it could indirectly affect commute satisfaction through the path of travel characteristics.
• This highlights the importance to improve the experience of transit commuters by improving the transit level-of-service.
• Finally, this study finds that improving access to public transit at the home location encourages transit use and reduces car use for commuting, and improving access to public transit at job locations helps to reduce the number of times a transfer needs to be made during the commute.
• There are several findings that are unique to this study.

Figures

Figure 2 Distribution of home and job locations of the sampling employees

Figure 3 Model specification Note: Curved line indicates a covariance between the two variables, and straight line represents the path from the causal variable toward the effect variable.

Table 3 Factor analysis on indicators of job environment

Table 2 Factor analysis on indicators of home environment

Table 1 Sample characteristics

Figure 1 Conceptual Model

Full text

Manuscript details
Manuscript number TRD_2015_255
Title Satisfaction with the Commute:
The Role of Travel Mode Choice,
Built Environment and Attitudes
Article type Research Paper
Abstract Most of previous research that
investigates the connections between
the travel and satisfaction with
travel has focused on the effect
of the travel characteristics (e.g.
travel mode choice, travel time,
level of service, etc.) on satisfaction
with travel. Little research has
explored the role of the built
environment or travel attitudes,
two important factors for transport
policies. Using data from a recent
þÿsurvey conducted in Xi an, China,
this study aims to quantitatively
explore the relative effects of
the built environment, travel attitudes,
and travel characteristics on commute
satisfaction. The data was analyzed
using structural equation modeling.
The model results suggest that
commuting characteristics, including
mode choice, congestion, and level
of services of transit, all directly
influence commute satisfaction.
Attitudes have both direct and
indirect effects on commute satisfaction,
while the built environment only
has indirect effects through influencing
commuting characteristics.
Keywords Commuting; Travel satisfaction;
Built environment; Attitudes; China

Corresponding Author Runing YE
Order of Authors Runing YE, Helena Titheridge
Suggested reviewers Jason Cao, Tim Schwanen, Ahmed
El-Geneidy, Jonas De Vos, Dick
Ettema
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Highlights
 Examines the role of travel mode, built-environment and attitudes on commute satisfaction
 Active travel users have the highest level of commute satisfaction
 Travel attitudes have both direct and indirect effects on commute satisfaction
 The objectively measured built-environment only has indirect effects
 Congestion is strongly associated with poor commute satisfaction

Satisfaction with the Commute: The Role of Travel Mode Choice, Built
Environment and Attitudes
Runing Ye
Centre for Transport Studies
Department of Civil, Environmental and Geomatic Engineering
University College London
Gower Street
London
WC1E 6BT
E-mail: r.ye.11@ucl.ac.uk
Phone: +44 74 5596 4465
Fax: +44 20 7679 3042
Helena Titheridge
Centre for Transport Studies
Department of Civil, Environmental and Geomatic Engineering
University College London
Gower Street
London
WC1E 6BT
E-mail: h.titheridge@ucl.ac.uk
Tel: + 44 20 7679 7775
Fax: + 44 20 7679 3042
1

Abstract
Most of previous research that investigates the connections between the travel and satisfaction with travel
has focused on the effect of the travel characteristics (e.g. travel mode choice, travel time, level of service,
etc.) on satisfaction with travel. Little research has explored the role of the built environment or travel
attitudes, two important factors for transport policies. Using data from a recent survey conducted in Xi’an,
China, this study aims to quantitatively explore the relative effects of the built environment, travel
attitudes, and travel characteristics on commute satisfaction. The data was analyzed using structural
equation modeling. The model results suggest that commuting characteristics, including mode choice,
congestion, and level of services of transit, all directly influence commute satisfaction. Attitudes have
both direct and indirect effects on commute satisfaction, while the built environment only has indirect
effects through influencing commuting characteristics.
Highlights
 Examines the role of travel mode, built-environment and attitudes on commute satisfaction
 Active travel users have the highest level of commute satisfaction
 Travel attitudes have both direct and indirect effects on commute satisfaction
 The objectively measured built-environment only has indirect effects
 Congestion is strongly associated with poor commute satisfaction
Keywords
Commuting; Travel satisfaction; Built environment; Attitudes; China
2

Frequently asked questions

Q1. What are the contributions mentioned in the paper "Satisfaction with the commute: the role of travel mode choice, built environment and attitudes" ?

Using data from a recent þÿ s u r v e y c o n d u c t e d i n X i a n, C h i n a, this study aims to quantitatively explore the relative effects of the built environment, travel attitudes, and travel characteristics on commute satisfaction. The model results suggest that commuting characteristics, including mode choice, congestion, and level of services of transit, all directly influence commute satisfaction. 

Q2. What are the future works in "Satisfaction with the commute: the role of travel mode choice, built environment and attitudes" ?

This study contributes to the previous studies by further including the built environment and travel-related attitudes and by focusing on commuting, aiming to build a more comprehensive framework that helps to explain the complex relationships between the built environment, attitudes, travel, and travel satisfaction. The e-bike is increasingly used as a travel mode in Xi ’ an and other Chinese cities, future research exploring the low level of travel satisfaction of e-bike users is needed. First, future research can improve this study by including more precise and complete measures of the built environment. Second, due to data limitations, the authors could only estimate a model that assumes the relationships between the variables are unidirectional, they recommend future research to explore the reverse direction of the relationships they proposed in the conceptual model. 

Q3. Why did the authors choose not to use a network buffer?

Due to a lack of precise GIS data on the street network, especially data on minor streets within residential neighborhoods, the authors decided not use a network buffer as the basis for calculating the built environment variables. 

Q4. What is the effect of the study on the commuting satisfaction of people?

Relying on a commuter survey (n=3,377) carried out at McGill University in Montreal, Canada, St-Louis et al. (2014) found that pedestrian, train commuters, and cyclists are significantly more satisfied with their commuting than drivers, metro and bus users, and they also found that commuting satisfaction was generally lower with modes that are more affected by external factors. 

Q5. What is the effect of a short distance from home to job?

In terms of the built environment, this study finds that a short distance from home to job encourages active travel use and reduces car use for the commute. 

Q6. What are the main factors that influence the subjective evaluation of the trip?

The amenities and landscape along the travel route, for example, may have direct impact on one’s mood and feeling, which in turn influence the subjective evaluation of the trip. 

Q7. Why are low-income people more likely to use walking, bicycling, and e?

In part, this is because in Chinese cities, lowincome population tend to live in suburban neighborhoods, and they are more likely to use walking, bicycling, and e-bicycling for commuting due to economic constraints. 

Q8. What is the role of attitudes in influencing travel behavior?

Even though attitudes often worked as control variables for self-selection (Cao et al., 2009; Handy et al., 2005, 2006; Kitamura et al., 1997; Naess, 2005), almost all of these studies have concluded that attitudes play a significant role in influencing travel behavior, which is directly associated with travel satisfaction.