IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jsusta/v13y2021i6p3030-d514351.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Travel Mode of Commuting in Context of Subjective Well-Being—Experience from Slovakia

Author

Listed:
  • Barbora Mazúrová

    (Faculty of Economics, Matej Bel University, 975 90 Banská Bystrica, Slovakia)

  • Ján Kollár

    (Faculty of Economics, Matej Bel University, 975 90 Banská Bystrica, Slovakia)

  • Gabriela Nedelová

    (Faculty of Economics, Matej Bel University, 975 90 Banská Bystrica, Slovakia)

Abstract

This article deals with commuting to and from work of workers in Slovakia as a part of traveling and its impact on private life of commuters. It provides a more comprehensive view on the socio-demographic determinants which affect the travel mode choice. Furthermore, the study offers several evaluations of the impact on the subjective well-being of commuters. The aim of the article is to review demographic and economic determinants influencing the travel mode choice and to determine its impact on the subjective well-being of respondents. On a sample of approximately 1000 economically active individuals by using several statistical tests (Nominal Logistic Regression, Fisher’s Exact Test, Mann-Whitney Test, Cochran Test, McNemar Test), we identified the determinants affecting the travel mode choice of respondents, including commuting time costs, commuting financial costs, income of respondents, education, gender, type of employment and place of work. This study has also showed that respondents are the most satisfied when commuting by bicycle or on foot and the most dissatisfied when commuting by using public transport. These facts, among others, should be reflected by the creation of sustainable and “green” transport infrastructure in Slovakia.

Suggested Citation

  • Barbora Mazúrová & Ján Kollár & Gabriela Nedelová, 2021. "Travel Mode of Commuting in Context of Subjective Well-Being—Experience from Slovakia," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(6), pages 1-17, March.
  • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:13:y:2021:i:6:p:3030-:d:514351
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/13/6/3030/pdf
    Download Restriction: no

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/13/6/3030/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Cecilia Bergstad & Amelie Gamble & Tommy Gärling & Olle Hagman & Merritt Polk & Dick Ettema & Margareta Friman & Lars Olsson, 2011. "Subjective well-being related to satisfaction with daily travel," Transportation, Springer, vol. 38(1), pages 1-15, January.
    2. Sandow, Erika, 2008. "Commuting behaviour in sparsely populated areas: evidence from northern Sweden," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 16(1), pages 14-27.
    3. Tim Schwanen & Frans M. Dieleman & Martin Dijst, 2004. "The Impact of Metropolitan Structure on Commute Behavior in the Netherlands: A Multilevel Approach," Growth and Change, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 35(3), pages 304-333, September.
    4. Mokhtarian, Patricia L. & Salomon, Ilan, 2001. "How derived is the demand for travel? Some conceptual and measurement considerations," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 35(8), pages 695-719, September.
    5. André Duarte & Camila Garcia & Grigoris Giannarakis & Susana Limão & Amalia Polydoropoulou & Nikolaos Litinas, 2010. "New approaches in transportation planning: happiness and transport economics," Netnomics, Springer, vol. 11(1), pages 5-32, April.
    6. Nicholas Bloom & James Liang & John Roberts & Zhichun Jenny Ying, 2015. "Does Working from Home Work? Evidence from a Chinese Experiment," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 130(1), pages 165-218.
    7. Bruno S. Frey, 2018. "Economics of Happiness," SpringerBriefs in Economics, Springer, number 978-3-319-75807-7, October.
    8. Nie, Peng & Sousa-Poza, Alfonso, 2018. "Commute time and subjective well-being in urban China," China Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 48(C), pages 188-204.
    9. Shaila Jamal & K. Bruce Newbold, 2020. "Factors Associated with Travel Behavior of Millennials and Older Adults: A Scoping Review," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(19), pages 1-27, October.
    10. Lorenz, Olga, 2018. "Does commuting matter to subjective well-being?," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 66(C), pages 180-199.
    11. Van Ommeren, Jos & Fosgerau, Mogens, 2009. "Workers' marginal costs of commuting," Journal of Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 65(1), pages 38-47, January.
    12. Jonas De Vos & Patricia L. Mokhtarian & Tim Schwanen & Veronique Van Acker & Frank Witlox, 2016. "Travel mode choice and travel satisfaction: bridging the gap between decision utility and experienced utility," Transportation, Springer, vol. 43(5), pages 771-796, September.
    13. Agota Giedrė Raišienė & Violeta Rapuano & Kristina Varkulevičiūtė & Katarína Stachová, 2020. "Working from Home—Who Is Happy? A Survey of Lithuania’s Employees during the COVID-19 Quarantine Period," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(13), pages 1-23, July.
    14. Carlos Javier de las Heras-Rosas & Juan Herrera, 2019. "Towards Sustainable Mobility through a Change in Values. Evidence in 12 European Countries," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(16), pages 1-23, August.
    15. Guidon, Sergio & Wicki, Michael & Bernauer, Thomas & Axhausen, Kay, 2019. "The social aspect of residential location choice: on the trade-off between proximity to social contacts and commuting," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 74(C), pages 333-340.
    16. Eric Morris & Erick Guerra, 2015. "Mood and mode: does how we travel affect how we feel?," Transportation, Springer, vol. 42(1), pages 25-43, January.
    17. Carlton Basmajian, 2010. "“Turn on the radio, bust out a song”: the experience of driving to work," Transportation, Springer, vol. 37(1), pages 59-84, January.
    18. Dargay, Joyce M, 2001. "The effect of income on car ownership: evidence of asymmetry," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 35(9), pages 807-821, November.
    19. Woo Jang & Fei Yuan & Jose Javier Lopez, 2021. "Investigating Sustainable Commuting Patterns by Socio-Economic Factors," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(4), pages 1-14, February.
    20. Friman, Margareta & Gärling, Tommy & Ettema, Dick & Olsson, Lars E., 2017. "How does travel affect emotional well-being and life satisfaction?," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 106(C), pages 170-180.
    21. Zahra Zarabi & Philippe Gerber & Sébastien Lord, 2019. "Travel Satisfaction vs. Life Satisfaction: A Weighted Decision-Making Approach," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(19), pages 1-28, September.
    22. Frändberg, Lotta & Vilhelmson, Bertil, 2011. "More or less travel: personal mobility trends in the Swedish population focusing gender and cohort," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 19(6), pages 1235-1244.
    23. Frey, Bruno S & Stutzer, Alois, 2000. "Happiness, Economy and Institutions," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 110(466), pages 918-938, October.
    24. Philippe Gerber & Marius Thériault & Christophe Enaux & Samuel Carpentier-Postel, 2020. "Links between Attitudes, Mode Choice, and Travel Satisfaction: A Cross-Border Long-Commute Case Study," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(21), pages 1-20, November.
    25. Mercado, Ruben & Páez, Antonio, 2009. "Determinants of distance traveled with a focus on the elderly: a multilevel analysis in the Hamilton CMA, Canada," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 17(1), pages 65-76.
    26. Wheatley, Daniel, 2014. "Travel-to-work and subjective well-being: A study of UK dual career households," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 39(C), pages 187-196.
    27. Jonas De Vos & Tim Schwanen & Veronique Van Acker & Frank Witlox, 2013. "Travel and Subjective Well-Being: A Focus on Findings, Methods and Future Research Needs," Transport Reviews, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 33(4), pages 421-442, July.
    28. Gil Solá, Ana, 2016. "Constructing work travel inequalities: The role of household gender contracts," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 53(C), pages 32-40.
    29. Ben Clark & Kiron Chatterjee & Adam Martin & Adrian Davis, 2020. "How commuting affects subjective wellbeing," Transportation, Springer, vol. 47(6), pages 2777-2805, December.
    30. Holmgren, Johan, 2007. "Meta-analysis of public transport demand," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 41(10), pages 1021-1035, December.
    31. Piet Rietveld & Peter Nijkamp & Jos van Ommeren, 2000. "Job mobility, residential mobility and commuting: A theoretical analysis using search theory," The Annals of Regional Science, Springer;Western Regional Science Association, vol. 34(2), pages 213-232.
    32. Daniel Kahneman & Alan B. Krueger, 2006. "Developments in the Measurement of Subjective Well-Being," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 20(1), pages 3-24, Winter.
    33. Lars Olsson & Tommy Gärling & Dick Ettema & Margareta Friman & Satoshi Fujii, 2013. "Happiness and Satisfaction with Work Commute," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 111(1), pages 255-263, March.
    34. Handy, Susan & Cao, Xinyu & Mokhtarian, Patricia L., 2005. "Correlation or causality between the built environment and travel behavior? Evidence from Northern California," University of California Transportation Center, Working Papers qt5b76c5kg, University of California Transportation Center.
    35. Banister, David, 2011. "The trilogy of distance, speed and time," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 19(4), pages 950-959.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Li, Shengxiao (Alex) & Guan, Xiaodong & Wang, Donggen, 2022. "How do constrained car ownership and car use influence travel and life satisfaction?," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 155(C), pages 202-218.
    2. Zuoxian Gan & Tao Feng & Min Yang, 2018. "Exploring the Effects of Car Ownership and Commuting on Subjective Well-Being: A Nationwide Questionnaire Study," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(1), pages 1-20, December.
    3. Morris, Eric A., 2015. "Should we all just stay home? Travel, out-of-home activities, and life satisfaction," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 78(C), pages 519-536.
    4. Lorenz, Olga, 2018. "Does commuting matter to subjective well-being?," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 66(C), pages 180-199.
    5. De Vos, Jonas & Witlox, Frank, 2017. "Travel satisfaction revisited. On the pivotal role of travel satisfaction in conceptualising a travel behaviour process," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 106(C), pages 364-373.
    6. Ye, Runing & De Vos, Jonas & Ma, Liang, 2020. "Analysing the association of dissonance between actual and ideal commute time and commute satisfaction," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 132(C), pages 47-60.
    7. Jonas De Vos, 2019. "Analysing the effect of trip satisfaction on satisfaction with the leisure activity at the destination of the trip, in relationship with life satisfaction," Transportation, Springer, vol. 46(3), pages 623-645, June.
    8. Jonas De Vos & Patricia L. Mokhtarian & Tim Schwanen & Veronique Van Acker & Frank Witlox, 2016. "Travel mode choice and travel satisfaction: bridging the gap between decision utility and experienced utility," Transportation, Springer, vol. 43(5), pages 771-796, September.
    9. Olga Lorenz, 2017. "Does Commuting Matter to Subjective Well-Being?," IAAEU Discussion Papers 201707, Institute of Labour Law and Industrial Relations in the European Union (IAAEU).
    10. Eric Morris & Erick Guerra, 2015. "Mood and mode: does how we travel affect how we feel?," Transportation, Springer, vol. 42(1), pages 25-43, January.
    11. Wang, Fenglong & Mao, Zidan & Wang, Donggen, 2020. "Residential relocation and travel satisfaction change: An empirical study in Beijing, China," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 135(C), pages 341-353.
    12. Tao, Yinhua & van Ham, Maarten & Petrović, Ana & Ta, Na, 2023. "A household perspective on the commuting paradox: Longitudinal relationships between commuting time and subjective wellbeing for couples in China," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 170(C).
    13. Zhenjun Zhu & Zhigang Li & Hongsheng Chen & Ye Liu & Jun Zeng, 2019. "Subjective well-being in China: how much does commuting matter?," Transportation, Springer, vol. 46(4), pages 1505-1524, August.
    14. Jesper Bláfoss Ingvardson & Sigal Kaplan & João de Abreu e Silva & Floridea Ciommo & Yoram Shiftan & Otto Anker Nielsen, 2020. "Existence, relatedness and growth needs as mediators between mode choice and travel satisfaction: evidence from Denmark," Transportation, Springer, vol. 47(1), pages 337-358, February.
    15. José M. Casado-Díaz & Raquel Simón-Albert & Hipólito Simón, 2023. "Gender Differences in Commuting: New Evidence from Spain," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 169(3), pages 907-941, October.
    16. De Vos, Jonas, 2018. "Do people travel with their preferred travel mode? Analysing the extent of travel mode dissonance and its effect on travel satisfaction," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 117(C), pages 261-274.
    17. Dong, Han & Zhang, Jun & Cirillo, Cinzia, 2019. "Exploring, understanding, and modeling the reciprocal relation between leisure and subjective well-being," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 130(C), pages 813-824.
    18. Denstadli, Jon Martin & Julsrud, Tom Erik & Christiansen, Petter, 2017. "Urban commuting – A threat to the work-family balance?," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 61(C), pages 87-94.
    19. Wheatley, Daniel, 2014. "Travel-to-work and subjective well-being: A study of UK dual career households," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 39(C), pages 187-196.
    20. Tae‐Hyoung Tommy Gim, 2020. "The relationship between overall happiness and perceived transportation services relative to other individual and environmental variables," Growth and Change, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 51(2), pages 712-733, June.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:13:y:2021:i:6:p:3030-:d:514351. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.