Sustainable Commuting Research Articles

Analyzing satisfaction and loyalty of car users in central Europe

ABSTRACT This study analyzes the satisfaction and loyalty levels of car commuters in Central Europe using data collected within the EU-funded project ‘Smart-Commuting.’ A Fuzzy-Hybrid TOPSIS approach is employed to measure synthetic indicators of satisfaction and loyalty among commuters. Subsequently, those expressing high satisfaction and loyalty to cars are identified through Fuzzy-Clustering Analysis. Finally, Probit estimation is utilized to investigate individual socioeconomic effects on the elevated levels of satisfaction and loyalty in car-based commuting. Results suggest that these are influenced by several socio-economic factors, including travel distance, travel time, occupation, and income. Gender and age also play a role, with males and older individuals exhibiting a higher inclination to drive. These findings can be instrumental in guiding mobility measures aimed at promoting sustainable commuting, such as incentives for public transport, improvements to cycling and walking infrastructure, and the implementation of flexible working arrangements. This is particularly relevant in Central Europe, where high car-dependency for commuting is well-documented.

Unlocking Sustainable Commuting: Exploring the Nexus of Macroeconomic Factors, Environmental Impact, and Daily Travel Patterns

This paper examines normality in time series econometrics for a sustainable energy transition. By analysing data from January 1997 to December 2021, this study integrates macroeconomic, environmental, and energy data to gain insights into the potential changes in daily commuting patterns among Slovenians. Various methods, including unit root tests such as the augmented Dickey–Fuller (ADF), Kwiatkowski–Phillips–Schmidt–Shin (KPSS), and Zivot–Andrews (Z-A), as well as other tests, are employed. Additionally, the vector autoregressive (VAR) model, Granger Causality and regression analysis determine the impact. This paper contributes to uncovering valuable information within data from macrovariables using macroeconometric techniques. It also provides insights that can support evidence-based decision-making for sustainable energy transition policies in Slovenia. The results of the normality tests indicate that most macro variables are integrated; there is a need for a careful analysis of integration levels and appropriate testing methods. These findings have implications for policymakers, researchers, and practitioners in economics, the environment, and energy supply. At the same time, this research highlights that gross domestic product, unemployment, inflation, and carbon dioxide positively impact car usage among Slovenians, while gasoline prices and commuters have a negative one. While the recently investigated development of sustainable commuting does not work, the study highlights an innovation: the connection of time series econometrics, which offers a better understanding of future commuting patterns on energy consumption and their causalities.

Does Subsidized Housing Facilitate More Sustainable Commute Patterns? Insights From Canadian Metropolitan Areas

Housing has become increasingly unaffordable, particularly in amenity-rich and transit-accessible areas. In this paper, we conduct an empirical analysis to investigate the relationship between living in subsidized housing and commuting patterns (mode and distance) in Toronto, Montreal, and Vancouver. We find that compared to otherwise similar individuals, those in subsidized dwellings have shorter and less auto-oriented commutes at statistically significant levels. The paper positions the discussion on subsidized housing in the broader context of the relationship between housing and sustainability, and within specific metropolitan geographies and histories of housing policies. In combination with prior research, the findings provide support for policies that promote investment in subsidized housing near transit as an affordability and sustainability strategy, particularly benefiting low-income renters.

Finding alternatives for the traditional diesel-powered company car: A conjoint analysis approach

Although the use of company cars is associated with more congestion, pollution and accidents compared to privately owned cars, the Belgian fiscal system provides exceptionally high incentives to company cars. As a result, the proportion of company cars is higher in Belgium than in any other OECD country. With a corporate mobility budget, more sustainable options are being offered as an alternative to large diesel-powered company cars, but little is known about how company car drivers value these alternatives. In this article, we explore how car-dependent employees make their choices in the company mobility system and aim to find options that enable more sustainable commuting. A choice-based conjoint analysis carried out among 422 car dependent company car drivers was used to measure their preference for alternative car-based solutions. The results indicate an overall preference for hybrid cars, but a shift toward fully electric vehicles is necessary to have a significant impact on climate change. Our results suggest that respondents with a higher environmental concern are more eager to make the transition toward smaller and fully electric vehicles, which is in line with previous studies. The study revealed that there is currently no alternative that is both more sustainable and more preferred by the sample, which again stresses the need for more drastic government intervention.

Exploring the Nonlinearity of Commute-Time Utility Considering Individual Ideal Preferences and Tolerance ThresholdsC: ase Study in Kunming

Exploring the nonlinearity of commute-time utility is useful in predicting urban travel demand. However, existing studies assume that commute utility decreases linearly with commute time. This ignores the influence of commuters’ ideal preferences and tolerance thresholds on commute utility. To reveal the nonlinear variation of commute utility with commute time and its influence on the choice of commute mode, the ideal commute time (ICT) and the tolerance threshold for commute time (TTCT) were introduced. Three-piecewise linear utility models (Models 2, 3, 4) were constructed and compared with the linear utility multinomial logit model (Model 1). The results of empirical study showed that: (a) the goodness of fit of these three modified models is higher than that of Model 1, indicating that the fitting effect of the commute-time utility model can be improved with either or both the ICT and TTCT; (b) there is a nonlinear relationship between the commute utility and the commute time. The commute-time utility decreases slowly before ICT, declines steadily between the ICT and the TTCT, and falls significantly after TTCT; and (c) when the commute time exceeds the TTCT, the perceived utility of commuters traveling by walking or cycling decreases significantly, and there are few changes in the perceived utility of commuters by car, which increases the probability that commuters who use active modes will transfer to commuting by car. The research results have implications for improving the prediction capacity of commute mode choice model and could guide commuters to switch to more sustainable commute modes.

Promoting Active and Sustainable Commuting: A Tool for Analysing Location-specific Conditions and Potentials for Walking, Cycling and Public Transport

Promoting Active and Sustainable Commuting: A Tool for Analysing Location-specific Conditions and Potentials for Walking, Cycling and Public Transport

Workplace travel planning: Case Finland

Sustainability is important for companies today and many companies set sustainability targets for their operation. Work-related travelling is one of the functions in which sustainability could be improved and Workplace Travel Plan (WTP) offers a valuable tool for that. This paper presents the results of a study conducted in Finland during spring 2021. The aim of the study was to analyze the current state of sustainable commute and the need to develop WTPs in Finland. The study was based on interviews of Finnish transport authorities, cities and companies and a survey targeted to Finnish organizations. In addition, literature was studied to support the process. The results indicate that WTPs are not yet broadly implemented in Finland, but organizations could profit from a guideline or a toolkit for implementation.

Understanding the Willingness of Students to Use Bicycles for Sustainable Commuting in a University Setting: A Structural Equation Modelling Approach

The bicycle is a forgotten and neglected mode of transport even though it offers numerous individual, social, and environmental benefits over motorised transport. This research seeks to determine the factors influencing students to use bicycles for commuting and focuses on the strategies that encourage bicycling in a university setting. This study proposes the novel model framework by adopting Ajzen’s theory of planned behaviour. We modified the theory of planned behaviour by adding two new constructs, perceived barriers and habit. The respondents in this study are 422 students from Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia in Selangor, Malaysia. The structural equation model in this study showed that the main attitudinal constructs, namely attitudes, subjective norms and perceived behavioural control, have a significant positive and direct influence on the students’ willingness to cycle. In addition, the perceived barriers have a profound negative and indirect impact on behaviour intention through attitude, perceived behavioural control and habit. The perceived barriers did not have a significant influence on the subjective norms. However, habit has a profound positive and direct effect on three main attitudinal constructs (attitude, subjective norms and perceived behavioural control). This element could indirectly influence the behaviour intention of cycling in a university setting. Finally, this study has identified the physical, educational and economic policies for promoting bicycle use on university setting. It also contributes beneficial information that authorities, policymakers, planners and researchers could use to formulate effective strategies for increasing bicycle use on university setting and promote green and sustainable university settings.

Hybrid Bayesian Network Models to Investigate the Impact of Built Environment Experience before Adulthood on Students’ Tolerable Travel Time to Campus: Towards Sustainable Commute Behavior

This present study developed two predictive and associative Bayesian network models to forecast the tolerable travel time of university students to campus. This study considered the built environment experiences of university students during their early life-course as the main predictors of this study. The Bayesian network models were hybridized with the Pearson chi-square test to select the most relevant variables to predict the tolerable travel time. Two predictive models were developed. The first model was applied only to the variables of the built environment, while the second model was applied to all variables that were identified using the Pearson chi-square tests. The results showed that most students were inclined to choose the tolerable travel time of 0–20 min. Among the built environment predictors, the availability of residential buildings in the neighborhood in the age periods of 14–18 was the most important. Taking all the variables into account, distance from students’ homes to campuses was the most important. The findings of this research imply that the built environment experiences of people during their early life-course may affect their future travel behaviors and tolerance. Besides, the outcome of this study can help planners create more sustainable commute behaviors among people in the future by building more compact and mixed-use neighborhoods.

Changes in commuting behaviours in response to the COVID-19 pandemic in the UK

BackgroundThe UK Government restrictions on non-essential work in response to the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic forced millions of working aged-adults into an unplanned lifestyle change. We present data on changes in commuting behaviour in response to COVID-19 and describe the facilitators and barriers to switching commuting behaviours, with a specific focus on cycling and walking. MethodsAn online survey queried individuals’ transport mode to/from work before and when becoming aware of COVID-19, when restrictions were in place and the transport mode they may use once restrictions are lifted. Free-form text responses were collected on why they may switch to a sustainable commute mode in the future and what would help/allow them to achieve this. Quantitative and qualitative data on those who commuted by car (single occupant) and public transport (bus/rail/park & ride) were analysed and presented separately. ResultsOverall, 725 car and public transport commuters responded; 72.4% were car commuters and 27.6% were public transport commuters before COVID-19. Of the car commuters, 81.9% may continue travelling by car once restrictions are lifted while 3.6% and 6.5% might change to walking and cycling, respectively. Of the public transport commuters, 49.0% might switch modes. From the free-form text responses three themes were identified: (a) perceived behavioural control towards cycling and walking (infrastructure and safety of roads, distance, weather) (b) key motivators to encourage a switch to cycling and walking (provision to support cycling, personal and environmental benefits); (c) the demands of current lifestyle (job requirements, family and lifestyle commitments). ConclusionThese UK data show how the COVID-19 pandemic has been an “external shock” causing some individuals to reassess their commuting mode. This provides an opportunity for theory-based behaviour change interventions tackling motivations, barriers and beliefs towards changing commute mode.

Measurement Quality Appraisal Instrument for Evaluation of Walkability Assessment Tools Based on Walking Needs

Walking is a sustainable commute mode, and walkability is considered an essential sign of sustainable mobility. To date, many walkability assessment tools have been developed to assess the walkability conditions across the world. However, there is a paucity of comprehensive methods to assess current walkability tools based on walking needs and ensure all walking requirements are included. Thus, researchers and experts are unable to select the most comprehensive tool systematically. The present study attempts to develop a system to evaluate the quality of the existing tools. The instrument focuses on factors related to walking needs frequently observed in all types of walkability assessment tools. Hence, a pilot measurement quality appraisal instrument (MQAI) is developed and tested by a research team with planning and public health backgrounds. The final MQAI is tested by suitable reliability, criterion, and content validity tests. Most appraisal scales display moderate to high reliability for both audits and questionnaires. The MQAI appears as ready for use in several applications, including meta-analyses and systematic reviews. Additionally, the MQAI can be used by practitioners and planners to identify the most comprehensive and efficient assessment tools based on their needs.

The Organizational Climate for Sustainable Commuting: An Italian Validation Study in the Academic Sector

Promoting sustainable commuting represents a valuable contribution to tackle the climate crisis, and organizations could act as frontrunners in this regard. Accordingly, conceptualizing and measuring how organizational environments contribute to sustainable commuting has become relevant. This study aims to conceptualize and operationalize the construct of Organizational Climate for Sustainable Commuting (OCSC) and validate the OCSC scale in the Italian language. Data were gathered in an Italian university from 8542 participants. The validation was based on EFA and CFA, reliability, and aggregation indices analyses. To validate the scale, convergent, discriminant, internal construct, and criterion validities were assessed. Results confirmed a unidimensional structure of the tool, satisfactory reliability, justified aggregation, and provided evidence for validity. The proposed concept and scale offer a new perspective and measurement tool to be used when promoting sustainable commuting in the workplace is the objective.

Investigating Sustainable Commuting Patterns by Socio-Economic Factors

This research aims to analyze how modes of transportation differ according to socio-economic factors in an urban space. The study area is Ramsey County, the most densely populated county in Minnesota. The primary data used were from the recent 2012–2016 Census Transportation Planning Products (CTPP). We performed regression models to identify the relationship between mode of transport and socio-economic variables, and further analyzed disaggregate trip data to provide a more realistic evaluation of commuting patterns by use of multiple variables in combination. The research found that sustainable commuting patterns correlated significantly with both poverty and minority group status, but bore no significant relationship to older workers. Additionally, there was a significant correlation between commuting alone by car with both minority group status and older workers, but not with poverty. This research also confirmed that the sustainable commuting patterns of the working poor were mostly located in the downtown area, while causes of low-income workers driving alone typically involved much longer commutes to and from points throughout the study area, suggesting that more efficient commutes are a significant quality of life factor for the urban poor when evaluating residential and employment opportunities in the central city.

Predicting the Intention of Sustainable Commuting among Chinese Commuters: The Role of Media and Morality

ABSTRACT In attempting to understand the media influence on the intention of sustainable commuting, this study integrated the media use and dependency theories and the norm activation model. Specifically, this study developed a research model that consists of online and offline environmental media use, media dependency, an awareness of consequences, the ascription of responsibility, personal norms, and the intention of sustainable commuting. Based on a quota sample of 1,264 commuters in China, this study found that online and offline environmental media use and media dependency were directly and indirectly associated with the intention of sustainable commuting. The indirect paths were mediated by an awareness of consequences, the ascription of responsibility, and personal norms. The implications of these findings were discussed.

Sustainable Commuting: Results from a Social Approach and International Evidence on Carpooling

Sustainable commuting (SC) usually refers to environmentally friendly travel modes, such as public transport (bus, tram, subway, light rail), walking, cycling, and carpooling. The double aim of the paper is to summarize relevant prior results in commuting from a social approach, and to provide new, international empirical evidence on carpooling as a specific mode of sustainable commuting. The literature shows that certain socio-demographic characteristics clearly affect the use of non-motorized alternatives, and compared to driving, well-being is greater for those using active travel or public transport. Additionally, this paper analyzes the behavior of carpooling for commuting, using ordinary least squares (OLS) models, which have been estimated from the Multinational Time Use Study (MTUS) for the following countries: Bulgaria, Canada, Spain, Finland, France, Hungary, Italy, South Korea, the United Kingdom, and the United States. Results indicate that carpooling for commuting is not habitual for workers, as less than 25% of the total time from/to work by car is done with others on board. With respect to the role of the socio-demographic characteristics of individuals, our evidence indicates that age, gender, education, being native, and household composition may have a cross-country, consistent relationship with carpooling participation. Given that socializing is the main reason for carpooling, in the current COVID-19 pandemic, carpooling may be decreasing and, consequently, initiatives have been launched to show that carpooling is a necessary way to avoid crowded modes of transport. Thus, the development of high-occupancy-vehicle (HOV) lanes by local authorities can increase carpooling, and draw attention to the economic and environmental benefits of carpooling for potential users.

Method development for workplaces using mobility plans to select suitable and sustainable measures

This paper aimed to provide a set of sustainable measures suitable for workplaces according to local requirements. To support this, a specific Transportation Demand Management strategy was applied, which is called Workplace Travel Planning. The result of such a Workplace Travel Plan is a package of measures implemented by an organization to encourage sustainable commuting. This research focused on two stages of the planning process: in the analysis stage, data were gathered from the stakeholders, and travel behavior was analyzed, while in the planning stage, a specific set of measures was proposed to the workplace. The selection of those measures relies on several aspects, such as existing workplace infrastructure, employer policies, employee requirements, local infrastructure, cost of implementation, level of sustainability. The mobility questionnaires are the instruments used to retrieve the input data used in the method, while the categorization of measures contributes to the next phase of the method serving as the output options. To each measure, factors, weights, and sustainability impacts were assigned. The connection of the phases was realized by creating the utility value of the measure, which enables the ranking of the measures. The approach provides a comprehensive framework of connecting employee requirements, employer willingness, and site-specific opportunities by defining a quantitative utility function, which results in a list of most suitable measures for a specific workplace.

Problems and barriers affecting sustainable commuting: Case study of people’s daily commute to Kasetsart University, Bangkok, Thailand

Bangkok is one of the cities with the worst road traffic congestion in the world. The city needs to shift toward a more sustainable commuting mode as soon as practicable. This study aims to explore modes of transportation that students and staff of Kasetsart University, Bangkok, use to commute to the university. Data was collected from 315 students and staff through online questionnaires. Interviews with selected respondents were also conducted to gather more insights relating to the perceived barriers to sustainable commuting. Observation of surrounding infrastructure was also conducted. The daily commuting were divided into 4 categories: pure active commuting including walking and biking (19.05%), pure active commuting and public transportation (18.41%), combination modes including private motorized vehicles (25.40%), and the least sustainable mode, pure private motorized vehicles (37.14%). The study further investigated the perceived barriers to 5 modes of sustainable transportation available to most respondents, namely, walking, biking, city bus, public van, and rapid transit. The most significant barriers to pure active commuting was the hot weather and the lack of walking and biking infrastructure. The major barrier to using city buses was the waiting time, together with the longer travel time especially during rush hours. For public vans, the barrier was found to be the safety issue due to careless drivers as well as the van condition. Most of the respondents would like to use the rapid transit, however, they thought the cost was a little high for daily commute.

New Solutions in Sustainable Commuting—The Attitudes and Experience of European Stakeholders and Experts in Switzerland

New technologies and services can support sustainable mobility if they are successfully integrated into the given mobility system. Decision-makers play a decisive role as ‘enablers’ for such commodities. To find out how a transformation towards sustainable commuting can be forced by implementing innovative solutions like carsharing, Mobility as a Service, or autonomous vehicles, relevant stakeholders were identified for three European case studies. Their perspectives and openness towards trends and new solutions were researched in an online survey. In addition, five expert interviews and two workshops in Switzerland deepened the understanding of how new mobility services could be incorporated into companies through mobility management. Results reflect a strong distinction of stakeholders by their national borders and responsibilities. As new mobility technologies and solutions require collaboration, the acts of supporting strong cross-border and cross-disciplinary cooperation, as well as developing joint interests and work processes beyond traditional ones, are suggested as important starting points. The study reveals a high openness of important stakeholders towards new mobility services and discusses the experience of experts in company mobility management.

Smart Cities and Mobility: Does the Smartness of Australian Cities Lead to Sustainable Commuting Patterns?

ABSTRACTSmart cities have become a popular concept because they have the potential to create a sustainable and livable urban future. Smart mobility forms an integral part of the smart city agenda. This paper investigates “smart mobility” from the angle of sustainable commuting practices in the context of smart cities. This paper studies a multivariate multiple regression model within a panel data framework and examines whether increasing access to broadband Internet connections leads to the choice of a sustainable commuting mode in Australian local government areas. In this case, access to the Internet is used as a proxy for determining urban smartness, and the use of different modes of transport including working at home is used to investigate sustainability in commuting behavior. The findings show that an increasing access to broadband Internet reduces the level of working from home, public transport use, and active transport use, but increases the use of private vehicles, perhaps to overcome the fragmentation of work activities the Internet creates. How to overcome the need for car-based travel for fragmented work activities while increasing smartness through the provisioning of broadband access should be a key smart city agenda for Australia to make its cities more sustainable.

Measures of a Sustainable Commute as a Predictor of Happiness

The ways in which we travel—by what mode, for how long, and for what purpose—can affect our sense of happiness and well-being. This paper assesses the relationships between measures of the sustainability of transportation systems in U.S. metropolitan areas and subjective well-being. Associations between self-reported happiness levels from the Gallup Healthways Well-being Index and commute data were examined for 187 core-based statistical areas (CBSA). We also supplement this quantitative analysis through brief case studies of high- and low-performing happiness cities. Our quantitative results indicate that regions with higher commute mode shares by non-automobile modes generally had higher well-being scores, even when controlling for important economic predictors of happiness. We also find that pro-sustainable transportation policies can have implications for population-wide happiness and well-being. Our case studies indicate that both high and low scoring happiness cities demonstrate a dedicated commitment to improving sustainable transportation infrastructure. Our study suggests that cities that provide incentives for residents to use more sustainable commute modes may offer greater opportunity for happiness than those that do not.