Commuting and psychological wellbeing in London: to walk or drive?

Abstract

The study explored the relationship between commuting modes and psychological wellbeing (PW) in 2,756 London commuters from wave two of the UK Household Longitudinal Study (2010/2011). Independent-samples t-test revealed significantly higher PW scores in outer- (M = 6.96, SD = 8.80) than inner-Londoners, M = 4.23, SD = 9.83; t (2754) = -7.67, p < .001. Chi-square tests for independence indicated significant commute differences. Comparatively, inner-Londoners reported more active (χ2 [1, n = 2,756] = 31.94, p < .001) and public transport (χ2 [1, n = 2,756] = 52.43, p < .001) travel, and lesser car use (χ2 [1, n = 2,756] = 141.88, p < .001). Multiple hierarchical regressions revealed that active commute (R2 change = .006, F change (1, 1050) = 7.04, p < .01) in inner London was positively associated with PW, whilst the same is true for driving (R2 change = .004, F change (1, 1524) = 6.08, p < .05) and public transport (R2 change = .005, F change (1, 1524) = 7.24, p < .01) commute in out London. These findings suggest that commuters' PW could potentially be improved through commuting modifications.