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Why is active travel more satisfying than motorized travel? Evidence from Dublin.

ABSTRACT: Some trips are better than others, and more and more studies find that active travel (walking and cycling) is more satisfying than motorized forms of travel (using the car or public transport). Why is this the case? Using data on travel satisfaction from 4134 commutes to a large University campus in Dublin, Ireland, this paper replicates the differences in travel satisfaction between active and motorized travel. We attribute these differences in large part to the duration of the trip. Subjective trip characteristics, such as safety and convenience, also play important roles. The trip duration explains rush-hour effects as well as why people starting from less affluent and more difficult-to-reach places are less satisfied with their trips. Longer-term policy options suggested by these results include infrastructure developments and spatial development strategies. A shorter-term initiative would be to delay university schedules in the morning to avoid low travel satisfaction during the slow rush-hour period and simultaneously ease pressure on the transport network at peak times.

SUBMITTER: Lades LK

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7200371 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Why is active travel more satisfying than motorized travel? Evidence from Dublin.

Lades Leonhard K LK Kelly Andrew A Kelleher Luke L

Transportation research. Part A, Policy and practice 20200506

Some trips are better than others, and more and more studies find that active travel (walking and cycling) is more satisfying than motorized forms of travel (using the car or public transport). Why is this the case? Using data on travel satisfaction from 4134 commutes to a large University campus in Dublin, Ireland, this paper replicates the differences in travel satisfaction between active and motorized travel. We attribute these differences in large part to the duration of the trip. Subjective ...[more]

PMID: 32390693

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Project description:BackgroundWalking and bicycling are health-promoting and environmentally friendly alternatives to the automobile. Previous studies that explore correlates of active travel and the built environment are for a single metropolitan statistical area (MSA) and results often vary among MSAs.ObjectivesOur goal was to model the relationship between the built environment and active travel for 20 MSAs spanning the continental United States.MethodsWe sourced and processed pedestrian and bicycle traffic counts for 20 U.S. MSAs (n=4,593 count locations), with 1–17 y of data available for each count location and the earliest and latest years of data collection being 1999 and 2016, respectively. Then, we tabulated land use, transport, and sociodemographic variables at 12 buffer sizes (100–3,000 m) for each count location. We employed stepwise linear regression to develop predictive models for morning and afternoon peak-period bicycle and pedestrian traffic volumes.ResultsBuilt environment features were significant predictors of active travel across all models. Areas with easy access to water and green space, high concentration of jobs, and high rates of active commuting were associated with higher bicycle and pedestrian volumes. Bicycle facilities (e.g., bike lanes, shared lane markings, off-street trails) were correlated with higher bicycle volumes. All models demonstrated reasonable goodness-of-fit for both bicyclists (adj-R2: 0.46–0.61) and pedestrians (adj-R2: 0.42–0.72). Cross-validation results showed that the afternoon peak-period models were more reliable than morning models.ConclusionsTo our knowledge, this is the first study to model multi-city trends in bicycling and walking traffic volumes with the goal of developing generalized estimates of the impact of the built environment on active travel. Our models could be used for exposure assessment (e.g., crashes, air pollution) to inform design of health-promoting cities. https://doi.org/10.1289/EHP3389.

Project description:OBJECTIVES:To examine whether there are associations between active travel and markers of a healthy, low-carbon (HLC) diet (increased consumption of fruit and vegetables (FV), reduced consumption of red and processed meat (RPM)). DESIGN:Cross-sectional analysis of a cohort study. SETTINGS:Population cohort of over 500 000 people recruited from 22 centres across the UK. Participants aged between 40 and 69 years were recruited between 2006 and 2010. PARTICIPANTS:412 299 adults with complete data on travel mode use, consumption of FV and RPM, and sociodemographic covariates were included in the analysis. EXPOSURE MEASURES:Mutually exclusive mode or mode combinations of travel (car, public transport, walking, cycling) for non-work and commuting journeys. OUTCOME MEASURES:Consumption of FV measured as portions per day and RPM measured as frequency per week. RESULTS:Engaging in all types of active travel was positively associated with higher FV consumption and negatively associated with more frequent RPM consumption. Cycling exclusively or in combination with walking was most strongly associated with increased dietary consumption of FV and reduced consumption of RPM for both non-work and commuting journeys. Overall, the strongest associations were between non-work cycling and FV consumption (males: adjusted OR=2.18, 95% CI 2.06 to 2.30; females: adjusted OR=2.50, 95% CI 2.31 to 2.71) and non-work cycling and RPM consumption (males: adjusted OR=0.57, 95% CI 0.54 to 0.60; females: adjusted OR=0.54, 95% CI 0.50 to 0.59). Associations were generally similar for both commuting and non-work travel, and were robust to adjustment with sociodemographic and behavioural factors. CONCLUSIONS:There are strong associations between engaging in active travel, particularly cycling, and HLC dietary consumption, suggesting that these HLC behaviours are related. Further research is needed to better understand the drivers and dynamics between these behaviours within individuals, and whether they share common underlying causes.

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Why is active travel more satisfying than motorized travel? Evidence from Dublin.

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Why is active travel more satisfying than motorized travel? Evidence from Dublin.

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